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HOLLY'S 



COUNTRY SEATS 



CONTAININQ 



LITHOGRAPHIC DESIGNS 



FOE COTTAGES, VILLAS, MANSIONS, ETC., WITH THEIR 
ACCOMPANYING OUTBUILDINGS ; 



ALSO, 



Countri C|urrl]cs, CitB Sitillrings, ^lailtoa]) ^tatioii;^, 

ETC., ETC. 



yV 



V 



HENRY HUDSON HOLLY. 



ARCUITECT. 




NEW YOEK : 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 4i3 & 445 BROADWAY. 

1863. 



m 



ti" 



.^1 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S63, by 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 

In the Clerk's OfBeo of tie District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New Tork. 



TO 



[lu §,mi^xUun ^n$Utnts 0J %K!i:Miti^i$, 



THIS BOOK IS 



RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 



THE AUTHOR. 



PBEFACE. 



This work was fully prepared for the press some two years 
since, and was about being put into the hands of publishers, when 
the " War for the Union " broke out, and seemed for a time to 
paralyze any new enterprise ; the author, therefore, thought 
proper to postpone the publication, until affairs should be in a 
more settled state, which, although not fully realized at the pres- 
ent time, yet as business has so far become based upon a war 
footing, the ball is kept rolling, and fortunes appear to be made 
even faster than in times of peace. 

We did intend, as hinted in Design No. 1, giving with this 
work a Treatise on Landscape Gardening, which, with maps, was 
commenced under the auspices of Mr. George E. Waring, jr., late 
of the Central Park ; but that gentleman having accej^ted a com- 
mission in the army, the plan was unfortimately abandoned. 

The hthographic views, which are signed by Paul Schulze, 
were in no way designed by him, but simply copied on stone 



PREFACE. 



from drawings "by the author. Oue or two of these, in a few of 
the copies, have a slight mistake in the ground plans, which was 
not discovered until a small number were printed. 



Henry Hudson Holly, 
Architect. 



New York, Jan. \st, 1S63. 



CONTENTS. 



PACK 



Some Account of the Histokt of Aechitectuee, . . .1 

Inteodtjctoet Chapter, ...... 21 

A rural home contrasted with city life. The expense of maintaining a coun- 
try place. The selection of a site. The approach. Model houses. Styles to 
be employed. Materials. " Truthfulness in building." Procuring a plan. 
The advantage of an architect. 

•DESIGN No. 1. 

Gate Lodge, ........ 33 

Style of architecture. Description of i)lan. Where a gate lodge is appro- 
priate. Subordination to mansion. 

DESIGN No. 2. 

Alteration of a Coti-age, . . Dr. C. W. Ballard. 37 

The difficulties of altering an old house. Carpenters' architecture, and its 
results. 

Yignette. — Old House before Alteration. 
Vignette. — Ornamental Well Curb. 
The well and its associations. 

DESIGN No. 3. 

A Cheap Cottage, . . John W. Shedden, Esq. 41 

Errmeous ideas with regard to beauty as connected with expense. De- 
scription of exterior. The veranda. The bay window. The ridge orna- 
2 



yiii CONTENTS. 

PACE 

merit. Descrii^tiou of interior. How to keep the chambers cool in summer. 
Deafening. 

DESIGN No. 4. 

Cottage on Tillage Lot, . . . ' at Stamford, Ct. 45 

Descrij>tion of plan. The roof. Contrast of light and shade. The advan- 
tage of various colors in architecture. The colors to be employed in painting 
a country house. 

DESIGN No 5. 

A Swiss Cottage, ....... 51 

Peculiarities of the design. The advantage of frequent communication with 
the architect. Motive and explanation of plan. The danger of altering a 
design without consultation. 

DESIGN No. G. 

Feench Villa, . . . . . . .55 

Description of plan. The veranda. The roof. Names for country places. 

DESIGN No. 7. 

Half Timber Shooting Lodge, . . . . .59 

The " forest primeval." The strength and durability of this style. The 
plan. 

DESIGN No. 8. 

Alteration of a Cofntey House, . J. R. Kearney, Esq. 63 

The features of the alteration. The roof- The library. The balcony. 

Vignette — The House before Alteration. 

Vigjiette. — Alteration of a Stable, . J. Howland, Esq. 

Description of plan. Harness rooms. 

DESIGN No. 9. 

A Square Stone House, . . Dr. J. H. T. Cockey. 65 

The site. Position of chimneys. Description of plan. How a square house 
may be made to appear irregular. 



CONTEXTS. ix 



DESIGX No. 10. 



PAGE 



A TuTDOE Villa, . . . J. D. Bedfoed, Esq. 69 

Its cliaracteristios. Adaptation to the surrounding scenery. Description 
of interior. 

DESIGN No. 11. 

A Stone Cottage, . . . . . • .73 

The advantage of the country in times of adversity. Description of jilan. 
The drawing room a superfluity in cottages. The disadvantage of living on 
flats. The duty of collecting a library. 

• DESIGN No. 12. 

The Yilla, ........ 79 

The advantage of building with the idea of future enlargement. How we 
get our erroneous ideas of cost. The way to make an approximate estimate. 

DESIGN No. 13. 

A Square House with Wing, . . . . .83 

Description of plan. Motives of internal treatment. The employment of 
sculpture and painting. 

DESIGN No. 14. 

An Iekegulak House with Veeauda all Round, . . .89 

How to get a view in all directions. The advantages of this plan over a 
square one. Description of plan. A window over fireplace. The observa- 
tory. 

DESIGN No. 15. 

A Squaee House with Ieregulae Roof, . . . .93 

A comparison between the old Puritan and Dutch, and the present styles 
of architecture. A hope for the future. Architecture and the sister arts. 
The eifects of parks on rural taste. 

Vignette. — A Rustic Summer House and Gateway. 



COxNTENTS. 



DESIGN No. IG. 



An Italian Villa, . . . O. Benedict, Esq. 97 

Situation. Material. Description of plan. Gas in the country. Furuaces. 

DESIGN No. 17. 

A CoiTAGE OeNEE, ....... 101 

Advantages of roof, balcony, and terrace. The plan. Enclosed stairs. 
The plan susceptible of alterations. 

DESIGN No. 18. 

Eemodelling of a Country House, . J. Howland, Esq. 105 

The fallacy of buying improved country places. 

Yignette. — The House before Alteration. 

Yignette. — Ice and Scjevier House Combined. 
How to build an ice bouse. 

DESIGN No. 19. 

A Gotuic Villa, . . . Mrs. T. D. Wheeler. 109 

The adaptation of this style to villas. DescrijitiOn of plan. Plumbing. 

DESIGN No. 20. 

The Mansion, ..... . . 113 

Description of plan. The use of natural woods in internal finish, and furni- 
ture appropriate thereto. 

Vignette. — Rustic Bridge, . . . Central Park. 

Vignette. — Boat House. 

DESIGN No. 21. 

Italian Villa, . . . . A. E. Tweedy, Esq. 117 

Cemeut brick, how to make and lay them. 



CONTENTS. 



DESIGN No. 22. 



TUDOK YlLLA, . . . . W. R. FOSDICKE, EsQ. 121 

Symmetrical arrangement of the rooms. The veranda. How to jjiiard 
against rats and vermin. Where outside blinds are inappropriate. Sliding 
and folding sash. 

DESIGN No. 23. 

A Regulae Villa with Pictueesque Outline, . . . 125 

The entrance porch. Interior arrangement. 



DESIGN No. 24. 

An Ieregclak Stone Yilla, .."... 129 

Built fireproof. Ventilation. Heating— steam and hot air. Anthracite 
and bituminous coal grates. 



DESIGN No. 25. 

Castellated Villa, ....••• 133 
Should be adopted with great caution. Historical description of a castle. 
Style of architecture after Edward I. The effects of the introduction of gun- 
powder. Interior arrangement. 



DESIGN No. 26. 

The Group, ...••••• 139 

How to treat buildings on a small amount of ground to give the idea of 
greater extent. Finials and ridge ornaments of practical utility. 



DESIGN No. 27. 

An Old English Villa, ...... 143 

First development of domestic architecture in England. Combination of 
styles in this design. The interior. Views from the house. Material. Ivy 
and other vines, where appropriate and how to cultivate them, 



CONTENTS. 



DESIGN No. 28. 



PAGE 



Enlakgement of a Countkt House, . G. A. Hoyt, Esq. 147 

Objections to altering old buildings. Difficulties attending same and un- 
satisfactory results. Description of alterations. How to obtain light for 
basement. 

Vignette. — 'The House befobe Enlabging. 



DESIGN No. 29. 

Italian Mansion, . . ... . . . 151 

Development of rural taste. The exterior and surroundings. The interior. 

DESIGN No. 30. 

The Tekeace, ........ 155 

City architecture. How to secure elegance and artistic effect. How to 
make all the buildings in a block harmonious. Mistakes of speculators. 
Legislation with regard to street architecture. 



DESIGN No. 31. 

The Mill, ..... Hyde Park. 159 

Utility may always be comliined with beauty. Saw mills considered nuisan- 
ces. How to remodel an old mill to make it useful and ornamental. The 
reservoir tower. Advantages of seclusion. 



DESIGN No. 32. 

Eaelt English Chapel, . . . . . .161 

Poetic ideas connected with rural churches. The influence of modest and 
retired places of worship. The characteristic churches of our country. The 
influences under which they are bmlt. Truthfulness iu building churches. 
The plan. The bell. 



CONTENTS. 



DESIGN No. 3 3. 



xiu 



Decoeated' Church, . . . . . . .165 

Why Catholic places of worship present a more pleasing appearance than 
those of other denominations. Cruciform plan. East window. The use of 
gablet windows. The chimney. 



DESIGN No. 34. 

Railway Station, ....... 169 

Railways the grand modern civilizing influence. The advantage of beauty 
in railway stations. What they generally are. The railway stations of 
Europe. IIow to prevent accidents. 



HOLLY'S 

COUNTRY SEATS 



SOME AOCOUI^T OF THE HISTORY OF 
AECHITEOTURE. 

i^.RCHiTECTUKE, " the first and noblest of the arts," arose with the first 
■wants of mankind. Witli their earliest ideas of self-dependence, we may 
reasonably suppose men began to look around them for shelter and pro- 
teetion alike from heat and cold. The refuge of caves and natural exca- 
vations could suffice for their uses only while in the most savage state. 
The first step toward civilization was to create artificial habitations — to 
build. How rude and insufficient must have been these first attempts we 
may well judge, when we consider what structures sheltered the descend- 
ants of these primeval builders even within the memory of history, and 
the cabins and huts even now dwelt in by some remote tribes of the wil- 
derness. What plans they adopted, what systems of construction, if any, 
they pursued, can only be conjectured. The origin of architecture, like 
all other antediluvian sciences, is involved in obscurity. "We know from 
its nature that it is eminently a progressive science ; and, tracing it back- 
ward, step by step, we may an-ive at an approximate idea of its earliest 
feeble efforts. Such a retrospect is not only instructive, but encouraging, 
reminding us, as it does, of the errors of the rude infancy of architecture, 
and compelling us to respect the innate strength and manifest destiny of 
an art which, through innumerable difficulties, could steadily advance 
.3 



2 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

from primeval simplicity to its present perfection, wliere it claims tlie 
highest rank among the noblest of human sciences, and j^oints to monu- 
ments of its success, not surpassed in excellence by those of any sister art. 

The probability is, that nothing more substantial than wood, the skins 
of beasts, or other equally siinjjle materials, formed the primitive dwell- 
ings of mankind. Scripture informs us that Cain built a city ; but that it 
was constituted of anything more j^ermanent than tents is doubtful. Not 
till the building of the Tower of Babel, do we hear of the use of any 
more noble material. In this case we are told that burnt brick and slime 
were used, and it is probable that some previous experience in the work- 
ing of these materials had been obtained in the erection of less important 
structures. We next read of the city of Babylon ; but the account is 
brief and unsatisfactory, throwing no light npon the subject. 

The next styles ■which arose were the Persian, Egyptian, and Indian, 
the former of which is sometimes called Persepolitan, from Persepolis, in 
which city are found the jjrincipal remains of this style. It bears some 
resemblance to the other two in general character, but diifers materially 
in detail. In each country we find temjjles of considerable extent, and 
sepulchral chambers, or catacombs, hewn out of the solid rock, and the 
walls adorned with hieroglyphics, the records of an advanced state of 
civilization. In Egypt these structures contain numerous ajaartments, 
while in Persia they are comparatively small, but excel in elaborate por- 
ticos richly embellished with sculpture. Another similarity consists in 
the massive proportions of these rock-hewn temples and tombs, all seem- 
ing to point to a common origin. The sculpture of Persia and Egj'pt is 
also of like charactei* — stiff, formal, and exceedingly laborious ; and this 
fact, in connection with the arrow-headed characters common to both 
styles, presents a good argument in favor of their relationship. 

Egyjit, like other primeval nations, has its history shrouded in m3's- 
tery, and, like that of early Rome, so entangled with the web of mythol- 
ogy, that it is impossible to distinguish truth from fable. It is, therefore, 
a matter of uncertainty which of these nations should receive the credit 
of the earliest attention to architecture ; but, judging from the sjiecimens 
found in the ruins of Babylon, it would seem to be due to that city — these 
being of a ruder construction than those of Egypt and India, and bearing 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 3 

intrinsic evidence of greater antiquity. For tlie same reason we would 
place Egypt second in point of time. 

Manetlio informs us that the irruption of the HyJcsos, or shepherd- 
kings, into Egypt, is supposed to have occurred at about the close of the 
sixteenth dynasty, and tliat the seventeenth was under these monarchs. 
It is at this time that the erection of extensive edifices is presumed to 
have begun. The usurping shepherds were overpowered by the Pharaohs 
about 2,000 years b. c, and then commenced the rebuilduig of those tem- 
ples, the magnificent remains of which are the wonder and delight of the 
traveller even to the present day. 

The most noted erections are those whose remains are found in the 
Egj^ptian cities along the Nile, and of these, especially Thebes and the 
Island of Pytae ; yet all contain most interesting specimens of temples, 
monuments, tombs, sphinxes, and pyramids, delicately sculptured in the 
hardest gi-anite, and ponderous and herculean beyond any subsequent 
eflforts of the chisel. 

The next system, in chronological rotation, appears to be the Grecian, 
the origin of which is almost as obscure as that of the nation itself. 
Many authors claim for tlie Greeks great originality of design ; yet there 
is much reason to suppose them indebted for their first inspirations to the 
sources we have specified. While denying, however, their originality in 
architecture, we must admit that in their hands it attained its highest 
degree of purity, chastity, and grandeur ; so that even to the present day 
their architectural details are imitated, as far more refined and beautiful 
than any which have since been invented. To this wonderful nation are 
attributed the three principal orders of architecture, the Doric, Ionic, 
and Corinthian. 

The proportions of the first, we are told, were taken from the figure 
of a man, its height being six times its diameter — the same ratio that a 
man's foot bears to his height. This order differs from the other two in 
the absence of a base. Vitruvius fancifully says that the base was intro- 
duced into the Ionic order to represent the sandal, or covering of a 
woman's foot, and that to the Doric, which represents the strong, muscu- 
lar, barefooted man, this member is inappropriate. 

It is not surprising that a people like the versatile and elegant Greeks 



4 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

should soon weary of a single stereotyped style, repeated with but slight 
modifications in all their huildings, and long for a change in both order 
and design. It was to meet this demand that the Ionic order arose. It 
was invented by the lonians, as its name implies. The Vitruvian account, 
sufficiently poetical to be exceedingly improbable, is, " that in erecting 
the temple of Diana, the proportions and dress of the Goddess were 
studied. The diameter of the columns was made an eighth part of their 
height ; the base, with folds representing the shoe ; the capitals, with 
volutes, in form of the curled hair worn upon the right and left ; and the 
cymatium, for the locks j^ending on the forehead from the crown ; the 
flutes in the column are supposed to represent the folds in the drapery." 
Yet moiives for all these features are found in the remains of Persepolis 
and Egypt. 

Although there are extant no examples of the Corinthian order at 
Corinth, yet its name would seem sufficient to entitle that city to the 
honor of its birthplace. Vitruvius' account of the origin of its capital is 
a well-known and pretty fable : " Callimachus, an Athenian sculptor, 
passing the tomb of a young virgin, observed an acanthus growing 
around the sides of a basket, covered with a tile, and placed upon the 
tomb ; and seeing that the tops of the leaves M-ere bent downward, in the 
form of volutes, by the resistance of the tile, he took the hint, and exe- 
cuted some columiis with foliated cajjitals, near Corinth, of a more slen- 
der proportion than those of the Ionic, imitative of the figure and deli- 
cacy of virgins." Unfortunately, however, Egypt is full of the prototypes 
of this composition. 

These three may well be called the basis of all trabeated and columnar 
architecture ; for, whatever changes have been wrought upon them — how- 
ever much the originals may seem to be lost from view in the multitudi- 
nous fancies of subsequent artists, still, divested of all their superfluities, 
the later productions invariably reduce themselves to one of these. 

. In this connection it may not be inappropriate to speak of a most 
remarkable fact in this art. The earliest monuments of the sister arts 
have passed away ; nothing is left, save tradition, by which to judge 
of the first stages of their existence. The Grecian and Eoman empires, 
where the arts were most cultivated, have declined and fallen, and with 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 5 

them a great part of their history. Little remains even of description, 
and still less of reality, to guide us in the study of their great achieve- 
ments. But Architecture nevertheless has survived, an indelible, majes- 
tic, and authentic record of their intellectual and moral culture, and the 
progress of their civilization. It is an art which most closely and inti- 
mately unites the beautiful with the useful — a deliberate growth out of 
the necessities of nations. Were its only olnjeet an {esthetic one, its earlier 
monuments would long ago have disappeared ; for it is not in the nature 
of man habitually to render immortal the " unsubstantial jiageants " of 
the mind. Tliey will not build for beauty, but rather beautify in build- 
ing. Therefore the adaptation of architecture to the wants of mankind is 
not only the secret of its beauty, but of its durability also. We may con- 
fidently expect that hereafter, as hitherto, this great art will keep pace 
with the growing grandeur and magnificence of nations, and we may 
anticipate architectural achievements which, in refinement, splendor, and 
dignity, will surpass all that our researches in the past can give. 

During the administration of Pericles, art made rapid strides. His 
character, as described by Plutarch, coincides most remarkably with the 
style of the temples erected by him. He is represented as exhibiting " an 
elevation of sentiment, a loftiness and purity of style, a gravity of coun- 
tenance, jealous of laugliter, a firm and even tone of delivery, and a 
decency of dress which no vehemence of speaking ever put in disoi'der." 
Athens was at this time nominally a repiiblic, but Pericles was in fact a 
king; and when the people complained of his lavish expenditures, he 
replied, " Be mine, then, alone the cost ; but, mark ye, be mine alone the 
glory. Not an Athenian shall be praised, not an Athenian obtain the 
homage of worship by posterity, when it contemplates these enduring 
monuments. Not to Athens shall .belong the praise of those temples 
raised to the honor of her deities. No ; my name alone shall be inscribed 
on them, and the city Athens shall live only in the fame of the citizen 
Pericles." " No ! " exclaimed the imited voice of the people ; " be yours 
and ours the glory. Draw on the treasury as you will." This anec- 
dote well serves to illustrate the spirit which animated the Grecian 
architect. 

But it is in ancient Eome we must look for the greatest variety and 



Q HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

magnificence in arcliitectnre. In the time of Romulus, the dwellings of 
the inliabitants were of the rudest description. Ancus Martins was the 
first king who commenced work on a larger and more substantial scale. 
All succeeding I'ulers bestowed more or less attention iipon this art. 
When Greece was overrun by Roman legions, the conquered provinces 
retaliated with their architecture, and in a sliort time overturned all pre- 
vious systems in Italy, and became in art the masters of the conquerors. 
Augustus may be called the Pericles of Rome. He it was who conceived 
the idea of making it the most splendid city in the world ; and in his day 
she attained her highest point of glory in this art. Architects flocked 
from Greece to tender their services in beautifying the city, and, by their 
aid, Augustus was able to see the realization of his dreams, and to boast 
" that he found Rome built in brick, and left it in marble." After Au- 
gustus architecture fell into a decline, and did not revive until the reign 
of Vespasian. The Coliseum, which was begun by him and finished by 
Titus, still stands as one of the wonders of the world. Of all the build- 
ings of ancient Rome, the Pantheon is perhaps most worthy of note. It 
was erected by Agrippa, and, as the name indicates, was dedicated to all 
the gods. This building will serve as an illustration of some principles of 
Roman architecture, as distinguished from Grecian. Its decorations are 
of the Corinthian order, and the interior is about 140 feet in height and 
diameter. The roof is vaulted ; and it is in this system of construction — 
that of the arch — that Rome can claim its only title to originality. The 
dome is constructed of brick, rubble, and pumice stone, and has a clear 
internal diameter of 140 feet, with a circular aperture at the top of 30 
feet diameter, which supplies the whole building with light and air, there 
being no windows. Around the inside walls are several niches, each 
adorned with two columns composed of antique yellow marble, and the 
whole interior lining of the walls, as far as the springing of the dome, is 
of the finest marble. 

Writers, in speaking of the Grecian orders, generally add to them two 
others, said to have originated in Rome, viz., the Tuscan and the Com- 
posite. The former, of Etruscan origin, is in reality no more than a 
clumsy imitation of the Doric, before the Greeks came to teach Rome the 
true principles of that style ; and the latter is a combination of the Ionic 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 7 

and Corinthian. The chief, if not the only merits of the old Koman 
architecture, are its variety and magnificent extent. It possesses little of 
that strong, meaning, and simple elegance, that refined dignity, so charac- 
teristic of the Greek school. Constructive expression and architectural 
truth were evidently not its aims ; and the noble columns supporting 
massive entablatures in Greece, became here merely ornamental append- 
ages. Tlie arch sustaining all the weight, the columns stand idle and use- 
less on either hand. Of the Romans it has been said, " They emblazoned 
their imperial city with a thousand splendid errors." Koman architecture 
typifies Koman pride and ostentation. Here are triumphal arches with 
bas-reliefs, commemorative of the triumphs of kings and conquerors, and 
designed to perpetuate their fame, but subserving no loftier purpose ; 
columns, to support only the memory of barbarous conquests ; theatres, 
stadia, and basilicas, to make more magnificent the daily life of a pre- 
sumj^tuous and tyrannical people. 

It has been said, and not without truth, that the arts are a mirror in 
which we may see reflected the character of a people ; and indeed, as 
regards architecture, it is an indelible reflection. Every great era in the 
world's history has left its lasting image on the mirror of this art. If we 
would know the secrets of the past, we have but to look on the monumen- 
tal records of Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting. But, among all 
political changes, none has had a more marked influence on every depart- 
ment of art than the introduction of Christianity. On architecture, espe- 
cially, has it left its indelible impress ; and, through its inspiration, 
mediaeval builders in the midst of Dark Ages built temples of worship so 
full of beautiful persuasion, that the people entered these gates of promise 
and joyfully received the baptism of the new faith. Religion, indeed, 
had always been the principal source — except, perhaps, in Home — of the 
highest architectural efforts ; and in the idolatrous temples of Greece, 
Egypt, and India, we may behold the most sumptuous expressions of 
human intellect in art. But it was reserved for Christian architecture to 
symbolize a higher aspiration, which only a faith revealed from the Deity 
himself was capable of conceiving. 

Thus originated what is called the Gothic, the first stage of which, 
from its close relationship with Eoman precedents, was known as the 



8 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

Eomanesque, including the Byzantine, Lombardie, Saxon, and Norman, 
each of which we propose very hriefly to describe. 

Constantino was tlic lirst of the Roman emperoi's to embrace Chris- 
tianity ; and, that he might with more freedom establish the new religion, 
he transferred the seat of government to Byzantium. Here, in the effort 
to throw off all influence of paganism, and to disclaim all connection 
therewith, a new order of architecture was instituted. Christianity 
rapidly achieved new triumphs, and spread far and wide, so that in a 
little more than two hundred years, from Constantino to Justinian, 
eighteen hundred churches were erected. Christianity soon extended 
through the entire Eastern Empire, and everywhere this style of architec- 
ture, which was the symbol and expression of the new dispensation, 
accompanied its triumphant progress. 

In the reign of Justinian, the Ostrogoths were driven out of Italy, 
and, the Eastern and Western Empires being thus brought imder the rule 
of one sovereign, the way was opened for the introduction of Byzantine 
architecture, which, however, did not gain a firm footing in the West till 
the building of the famous basilica of St. Mark in Venice, in the latter 
part of the tenth century, though Byzantine biiilders had been employed 
in Italy, in works of less importance, many years before this. It is a 
common error to supjiose that Byzantine architecture ever became thor- 
oughly acclimated in Italy. We do not think its efforts were ever very 
strongly felt outside of Venice, except, jjerhaps, in some matters of detail. 
A natural confusion arises from the neglect of the fact, that both Byzan- 
tine and Lombardie had a common origin, and therefore in many points 
were identical. The pure Byzantine seems to have held sway in the East 
until the invasion of the Ottomans. 

Mr. Hope, in speaking of the churches of Byzantium, says : " Arches 
rising above arches, and cupolas over cupolas, we may say that all which 
in the temples of Athens was straight, angular, and square, in the 
churches of Constantine became curved and rounded, concave within and 
convex without." 

Tlic plan of the Byzantine church is what is called a Greek cross ; that 
is, having the arms of equal length. A double dome is ijlaced over the 
intersection of these arms, the ends of which are covered with conchas, or 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 9 

semi-domes, abutting against the main central cupola. The porticos are 
invariably omitted, and semicircular arches are everywhere prevalent. 

The Lombardic, which, like its rival, the Byzantine, had its origin in 
the same early Christian Eomanesque, derived Its name from the circum- 
stance of its prevalence during the supremacy of the Lombards in Italy, 
and not from its invention being duo to them ; since it was developed by 
the native architects of Italy, and was most in vogue from the seventh to 
the thirteenth century. The arts flourished in Italy under the Lombardic 
govermnent, which continued till the time of Charlemagne (a. d. 774), 
during which period Central Italy became studded with churches and 
baptistries. This style does not appear to have obtained in Rome. 
Architecture received a severe check from the incursions of the Saracens 
from the south, and the discords of rival princes of the north, and did not 
recover until the eleventh century. From this, until the pointed style 
was introduced in the thirteenth century, the Lombardic, though some- 
what modified, especially prevailed. There are two features which prin- 
cipally distinguished this from the Byzantine, viz., the bell tower, or cam- 
panile, and the substitution of the Latin for the Greek cross, as a charac- 
teristic form. 

The Saxon was the first system of any importance in England, and 
prevailed from the time of the conversion of the Saxons until the Norman 
conquest. Doubtless it had its source in the style introduced during the 
Roman supremacy, as it is hardly to be presumed that either Britons or 
Saxons had any architecture of their own. 

Gregory the Great is believed to have been the first to encourage 
Christianity in England. "VVe are told he gave permission to St. Ai;gus- 
tine to use the pagan temples for purposes of Christian worship.* Within 
less than fifty years after the death of this great and successful propagand- 
ist, the great cathedrals of London, Rochester, and York, and the Abbey of 
Westminster, were erected, and the more modern structures now occupy- 
ing the sites of these cathedrals are dedicated to the same saints. The 
foundations still bear traces of the antique Saxon masonry. 

* It is well to observe here, that all the earliest Christian temples of worship in Rome were 
originally the ancient basilicas, or courts of justice, which were admirably suited for the forms of 
the early ritual of the Church. From these basilicas are directly descended the later cathedral plans 
with which we are familiar. 
4 



10 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

Tlie N'orman was the Lombardic transplanted into the north of 
France, and there receiving characteristic modification from the manly 
energy of the ^^eople, and the necessities of the ruder climate. It went 
over to England with the conquerors, and soon prevailed everywhere 
throughout the island, absorbing those features of the Saxon style which 
had in them enough of the elements of life to render them worth preserv- 
ing. It much resembles the Lombardic, diftering from it especially in the 
absence of the dome or cupola, nor has it the low pedimental roof extend- 
ing over the whole fagade. The sloping arcade in the gable is absent, as 
likewise the tiers of external galleries or arches. Circular windows are 
more common, nor do we meet with the peculiar projecting porch, hav- 
ing its columns resting on the backs of animals. Other of its details 
agree with the Saxon in its massive proportions, the shape of its arches 
and piers, and its general construction. It is, however, a much more cul- 
tivated style than any of the Romanesque schools. It flourished in Eng- 
land from the middle of the eleventh to the end of the twelfth century. 
After the arrival of William of ]S"ormandy, churches were erected in 
almost every city, village, and hamlet, throughout the island. The latter 
period of this style has been termed the Semi-Norman, and is important 
as forming a connecting link between the Romanesque and the Pointed, 
or Gothic, its principal medium being the pointed arch, which was first 
introduced about the time of Richard I., when the Crusaders, who are 
sometimes supj^osed to have brought this arch from the East, gave a new 
impulse to Christian architecture. The origin of this pointed arch has for 
a long time been a subject of controversy ; and the minds of archseolo- 
gists appear now to be pretty generally inclined to the belief that it was 
not an importation, but a natural constructive development from the old 
round arch, dimly foreshadowed, a century before it prevailed, so exten- 
sively as to be the leading feature of a new system of architecture. 

Tills Gothic or Pointed style, which grew out of and immediately suc- 
ceeded the Semi-Norman, was expressive in the highest degree of the then 
prevailing religion. All lines now tended upward, and each member 
appeared expressive of some mark of the Christian faith. The plan of 
the church was a cross, which also ajipeared conspicuous in its various 
details. Trefoil arches and pianels, typifying the Trinity, soon became 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. H 

prominent. The substantial buttress, -which gave strength to the walls, 
now ran above the roof, and finished with a pinnacle. Instead of heathen 
domes, the Christian spire towered upward, pointing to the heaven of 
which Faith whispers. Mr. Wightwick, in alluding to this beautiful 
thought, says : " All that jou saw ere you entered the gate of Constan- 
tinal Rome, only sought to inform you of the grandeur and the grace be- 
longing to those idolatrous creations, which, however lofty, still maintain 
but a horizontal course with Earth : nor was it till the genius of Pointed 
Design expanded itself in the glowing atmosphere of Christianized Europe, 
that Architecture aspired to raise the eye above the level of mere human 
perfection, and to give it a ' heaven-directed ' aim. Then sought she, in the 
long vistas and mounting spires which distinguish the wondrous temples 
of Germany, France, and Great Britain, to symbolize the ever-vanishing per- 
spective of Eternity, and the infinite altitude of the Creator above his ci'ea-^ 
tures. Their lofty pillars seemed rather to spring from the earth, than to 
rest iqjon it ; their aspiring arches, instead of downward pressure, expressed 
upward continuity ; and those windowless walls, which in the Heathen tem- 
l>\e remained in stubborn solidity to exclude the light, were now pierced 
on all sides to admit the beams of divine day. Now sought they to typify, 
by the sobered splendor of emblazoned glass, how, through the many- 
colored medium of mystery, heaven poiired its dazzling rays, in mercy 
dimmed for mortal eyes. Now, sought they, in their cruciform plan, to 
exhibit a symbol of the Everlasting sacrifice, and in their central crown- 
ing tower, an abiding monument of Salvation ; whilst, like ever-soaring 
piety, upward and still upward rose the ' star-y-pointing ' spire, to seek its 
Jmial in that heaven where alone the soul's consummation can be sought." 

The words of Coleridge, in comparing the Classic and Gothic modes 
of architecture, are remarkable : " The Greek art is beautiful. When I 
enter a Greek church, my eye is charmed, and my mind elated ; I feel 
exalted, and proud that I am a man. But the Gothic art is sublime. On 
entering a cathedral, I am filled with devotion and with awe ; I am lost 
to the actualities tliat surround me, and juy whole being expands into the 
infinite ; earth and air, nature and art, all sweep up into eternity, and the 
only sensible impression left is, that I am nothing." 

If, in describing the various eras of Gothic architecture, we seem to 



J2 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

lay too little stress on its continental developments in France, Germany, 
and Italy, we are not to be understood as undervaluing the latter. On 
the contrary, we are ready to state that these contineutal developments 
were always in advance of the EDglish a quarter of a century or more, 
and in quality and quantity perhaps, in magnificence and costliness, far 
surpassed those of our mother country. But the limit to which we have 
restricted ourselves in this brief historical sketch, scarcely permits our 
following the progress of architecture everywhere, and so we have thought 
proper to confine our attention to the English, as being nearer our own 
sympathies, less likely to confuse our readers with a multitude of exam- 
ples, and, at the same time, containing all the essential characteristics, 
signally expressed, which constitute mediaeval or Gothic architecture. 

It is the custom to divide English Gothic as follows : Early English, 
from A. D. 1189 to 1307, or during the reigns of Henry II., Eichard I., 
John, Henry III., and Edward I. Decorated English, from a. d. 1307 to 
1377, or during the reigns of Edward II., Edward III., and Eichard II. 
Perpendicular English, from a. d. 1377 to 1160, or during the reigns of 
Henry IV., V., and VI. 

The first of these, which we shall call the style of the thirteenth century, 
is distinguished by long and nari'ow lancet-headed windows, employed 
singly or collectively ; being in the latter case separated by narrow piers. 
The heads are decorated with concentric tables or dripstones. The buttresses 
have nmch greater projection than in the Xorman examples, where they 
were rarely larger than the pilasters of the classic temples. Large columns 
of this style are seldom seen, save in the form of a series of small ones clus- 
tered. Examples of this period are exceedingly beautiful, simple, and 
elegant in design, and delicate in execution, equally applicable to the mod- 
est village church and the noble abbey or cathedral ; remarkable in the 
one case for unpretending simplicity, and in the other for solemn and 
majestic grandeur. 

The second of these divisions, which is called the Decorated, or middle 
pointed Gothic, may be classed as the style of the fourteenth century. This 
period excels all the others in point of beauty. It not only rivals the pre- 
ceding in chastity, but surpasses it in richness, without being overbur- 
dened with the extravagant and unmeaning ornamentation of the styles 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 13 

■wliicli followed. In this the narrow, lancet-headed windows, grouped 
together, as in the former style, and separated by narrow piers, are clus- 
tered into one imposing window, with one arch surmounting the whole and 
filled up with tracery, composed in the most graceful combinations, in 
which are introduced cuspidations or foliations in nearly every jiiossible 
variety. The increased richness of these windows warranted a correspond- 
ing decoration of the entire building. Enriched crockets, or bunches of 
carved leaves, were soon employed, running uj) the sloping angles of gables 
and spires, and terminating in an ornamental finial which surmounted the 
whole.* These ornaments, though chaste, were still supei-fluous, and soon 
degenei'ated into extravagant, unmeaning decoration, the invariable pre- 
cursor of declining art. This was soon evident in the Perpendicular, whose 
origin dates at the close of the fourteenth century, and which prevailed till 
the almost total disuse of Gothic architecture in England. It was character- 
ized by its excess of ornaments, forming a marked contrast with the former 
styles. The terra Perpendicular was given it on account of the peculiar 
arrangement of the tracery in the window heads, and in the panels with 
which every surface was filled, this tracery being composed exclusively of 
upright bars connected by foliated heads. This name has, however, been 
objected to as of only partial application, and the terra Horizontal sug- 
gested as more appropriate and significant of the general tendency of the 
style ; and this idea seems well founded, for here, instead of the uplifted arch 
and the uniform upward tendency, alluded to as features of the preceding 
styles, we have the depressed arch, low roof, square-headed windows and 
doorways, square hood mouldings and horizontal transoms, all imparting a 
flat and level appearance. Even spires were abandoned, elaborately fin- 
ished towers being substituted, which were soraetimes surmounted by 
lanterns. 

King's College Chapel, Cambridge, and Henry the Seventh's Chapel 
at Westminster, are the most elaborate examples in England of the Per- 
pendicular system. It is worthy of note that this style is so prevalent 
among the collegiate buildings of England, especially at Oxford and Cam- 
bridge, as, through association, to have become almost classic. Few eras 

* For an early English design of the thirteenth century, see No. 32 ; while Design No. 3.3 is of 
the Decorative, or fourteenth centurv. 



14 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

of building are so ojien to criticism as this ; but its practical results are 
such that, perhaps, no other one is so endeared to the hearts of the Enolish 
people. This may be owing jDartly to the fact that the Perpendicular, un- 
like the other styles, was not derived from the Continent, but is exclusively 
English in all its characteristics ; the contemporary style in Fi-ance being the 
Flamboyant, where the tracery seems to wave and flare like the wildest 
flames; and in Germany, the Geometrical, the tracery being composed 
merely of geometrical lines, infinitely combined from angular and circu- 
lar elements, and foliated. The cathedrals of Beauvais, St. Ouen, and part 
of Rouen, may be considered the representative buildings of the Flamboy- 
ant ; while those of Cologne and Strasbui-g occupy the same position in the 
geometrical style of Germany. 

Domestic architectui-e in England may be said to have arisen in the 
time of Henry VII. With his reign was inaugurated an entire change in 
the life and habits of the English people. "With his marriage the feuds of York 
and Lancaster ceased, and a long season of peace seemed about to follow 
the internal discords wliich had distracted the reigns of his predecessors. 
Previous to this period, domestic architecture had scarcely an existence, 
save in the form of fortified castles. Henry VIII. did much to revolution- 
ize the art, for during his reign the Eeformation was established in Eng- 
land, and tlie sacrilegious plunder and destruction of monasteries and reli- 
gious houses, carried on under his orders, discouraged the erection of new, 
while it removed the old examples. But, while he was thus a destroyer 
of the works of antiquity, he was a liberal patron of the new- architecture, 
and erected many palaces and civic buildings. 

It is not surprising that, when a monarch initiated a movement of this 
kind, his subjects should continue it. Foremost in such works, therefore, 
w^as the great Cardinal Wolsey, by wdiose power and lavish expenditure 
were built some of the noblest residences and collegiate buildings in 
England. 

Many novel features were introduced into domestic architecture to 
meet the new exigencies of the improved social life of those days : among 
the most prominent of these are bay and oriel windows, chimney stacks^ 
roof ceilings, and panelled wainscots around interior walls. 

Tlie Italian style did not prevail extensively in England until some 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 15 

time after it had been establislied in France under Pierre Lescot, Philibert, 
Delorme, Jean BuUaut, and other architects of celebrity. In the reign of 
Henry VIII., and more especially in that of Elizabeth, owing to the in- 
creased intercourse with the Continent, Italian details began to work their 
way into English architecture. It was evident which way the finger of 
art was pointing. As the mi.xed architecture of Constantine formed a 
connecting link between heathen " classic " and Cliristian " Gothic," so the 
Elizabethan stood between Chiistian " Gothic " and the revival of the old 
classic forms. It has been remarked that, in the mausoleum of Westmin- 
ster, the pointed style expired in a blaze of glory. It was like the setting 
of the sun, whose lingering rays play around and illuminate the mountain 
tops, when their great source has sunk below the horizon. 

Holbein initiated the fashion for reviving the styles of Italy in Eng- 
land ; and when Elizabeth ascended the throne she found her arcliitec- 
tural realms distracted by a most fierce civil war. Tlie buildings erected 
in her time are but so many lasting records of desperate actions between 
the antagonistic principles of the Gothic St. Peter's at York and the classic 
St. Peter's at Rome. 

Perhaps the first indication of a tendency to revive the classic orders 
was exhibited by Amolfo di Camlio da Colle, in his design for the Cathe- 
dral of Florence, which, however, is essentially an Italian Gothic composi- 
tion in sentiment. But little progress was made in this direction till the 
time of Brunelleschi, who built the famous dome over that cathedral, and 
who may be said to be the father of the Italian style. From this period, the 
beginning of the 15th century, this style extended rapidly throughout Italy. 

Italian Renaissance may be divided into three classes, named, from the 
cities in which they prevailed, Florentine, Roman, and Venetian. That of 
Florence is peculiar, especially that of her palaces. Strong, massive, and 
severe, they are rather fortresses than the residences of peaceful merchants. 
Nor was this appearance needless and deceitful ; for the strength of these 
mansions was requisite for defence in the midst of the civil strifes and com- 
motions whicli disturbed the peace of the State until the time of the 
Medicis. Florentine builduigs excel in dignity those of Rome and Venice, 
but fall far short of them in lightness and elegance ; they are inferior in 
refinement of detail, but surpass all others in imposing boldness. 



16 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS, 



" The buildings of Florence," says a French author, " appear to be not 
the work of ordinary men. We enter them with respect, expecting to find 
them inhabited by beings of a nature superior to ourselves. Whether the 
eye irf arrested by monuments of the age of Cosmo de Medici, or of the 
times which preceded or followed it, all in this imposing city carries the 
imprint of grandeur and majesty. Frequent revolutions oblige the chief 
parties to consider their jjersonal safety, along with the magnificence of 
their dwellings. Externally, they are examples of skilful union of grace 
with simplicity and massiveuess. After Rome, Florence is the most in- 
teresting city to every artist." 

The edifices of modern Eome are of a very difl'erent character from 
those of Florence ; they do not possess the massive appearance of the lattei', 
but are distinguished for an air of lightness and elegance. This style forms 
a connecting link between the Florentine and Venetian ; for, while on the 
one hand it is less heavy and severe than the former, it is, on the other, 
not so gay and slight as the latter. Bramante, perhaps, was the founder 
of this style, and the principal examples are the great basilica of St. Peter's 
and the Farnese palace ; the former of which may justly be considered the 
great achievement of Eenaissance. The original design was furnished by 
Bramante, but was altered by almost every architect employed upon the 
building. Bramante commenced the erection, but did not proceed far 
with the work ; the body of the church being the work of Peruzzi and San 
Gallo ; the dome, of Michael Angelo and Fontana ; the nave and west 
fa§ade, of Carlo Maderno ; the colonnades, of Bernini. The plan was orig- 
inally a Latin cross, which was changed by Michael Angelo into a Greek 
cross, and again to the Latin form by Carlo Maderno, called by an indig- 
nant and caustic critic, " the wretched plasterer from Como." A few of 
the dimensions of this building may not be uninteresting, and, in giving 
them, we shall compare them with those of St. Paul's, of London. 



Whole length of church and porch, 
Breadth of front with turrets, 
Diameter of cupola, 
Height from ground to top of cross. 
Top of highest statue ou front, 



ST. Peter's. 


ST. PAUL'S 


729 feet. 


500 feet. 


364 " 


180 " 


189 " 


145 " 


4374" 


370 " 


176 " 


135 " 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 17 

As before stated, the Venetian Renaissance is characterized by its 
preeminent lightness and elegance. San Michele or Sansovino may be 
said to have been the founder of this school, and they were followed by 
Palladio, Scamozzi, &c. Good examples of these are the Library of 
St. Mark, the Pamphili palace, Verona, and the Chapel of St. Bernardino. 

But Palladio is our model among Italian artists. His style, termed the 
Palladian, was soon adopted throughout a great part of the Continent, and 
introduced, in the reign of James I., into England by the celebrated luigo 
Jones. In the early part of his practice, this architect had followed the 
mixed style before described as the Elizabethan, but on his return from a 
journey to Italy in 1619, he brought back with him the manner of the 
Palladian school, in which his principal works were executed, as the por- 
tico of old St. Paul's, Whitehall palace, York stairs, and the church of St. 
Paul, Covent Garden. Few of the works of his genius now remain ; most 
of them having been destroyed by the great fire of 1666, or removed to 
make way for succeeding improvements. This great fire gave an opening 
for the newly adopted style of architecture, which perhaps would never 
otherwise have been obtained. Nor was it a small advantage that it re- 
ceived the favor of Sir Christopher Wren, who was undoubtedly a man of 
superior attainments in his profession. 

Space will not allow us to enumerate the sixty churches, the palaces, 
and other public and private buildings erected by him ; but we cannot pass 
over his chef (Voiuvre, the Cathedral of St. Paul, without some brief de- 
scription. This magnificent edifice not only furnishes us with a remarkable 
specimen of constructive skill, but with a grand example of Italian archi- 
tecture, as applied to sacred purposes. 

Tradition informs us that the site of this building was, at the time of the 
Eoman rule in England, occupied by a temple dedicated to Diana. How- 
ever this may be, it is certain that one of the earliest Christian churches in 
England was erected on this spot by King Ethelbert, who had been con- 
verted by St. Augustine. This church was destroyed by fire in 961, but 
was immediately rebuilt. In 10S7 it was again consumed in a conflagra- 
tion, which laid waste the greater part of the metropolis. At this time 
Maurice, Bishop of London, conceived the grand design of erecting the 
magnificent edifice which preceded the present cathedral. This was again 
5 



18 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

much injured by fire in 1135, -wliicli consumed all of the building that was 
combustible. The enterprise of the age was not, however, to be repressed, 
even by such repeated disasters ; for, in 1221, the central tower was fin- 
ished, and in 1229 Bishop Niger imdertook to rebuild the chok in a new 
style of architecture and with enlarged dimensions ; this was completed in 
121:0. This edifice, previous to James I., had been twice struck by light- 
ning and had undergone many changes and repahs ; but in his reign it 
was found to be in a dilapidated condition, and, though large sums of 
money were collected and material provided for its repair, nothing was 
done till the reign of Charles I., when Inigo Jones was appointed to super- 
intend the work, which was begun in 1633, and in the course of nine years 
a magnificent portico was erected on the west front, and the building 
newly cased in stone. During the time of Cromwell, however, the build- 
ing was nearly ruined by being converted into stables and barracks. The 
regular eovernmeut of the church beins; restored with the succeeding mon- 
arch, the Dean and Chapter proceeded immediately, under the direction of 
Sir John Durham, to remove all traces of the encroachments begun in 
1663. Three years later, this unfortunate building again fell a prey to the 
flames, which consumed the roof, and so weakened the walls that they 
were deemed incapable of repair. It was determined to erect a new build- 
ing, which was commenced in 1675, and iu 1710 the last stone was laid by 
Mr. Christopher Wren, son of the architect. Thus, through a series of 
most unexampled misfortunes, this church was completed in thirty-five 
years, under the direction of one architect, and, by a remarkable coinci- 
dence, of one master mason, Mr. Strong, and under the auspices of one 
bishop of London, Dr. Henry Corapton. 

Of all Wren's pupils, only one attained great eminence, Nicholas Hawks- 
more, one of whose churches, that of St. Mary, Woolwoi'th, is of consider- 
able merit. The next architect of note, practising this style, was James 
Gibbs, the architect of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields and St. Mary's-le-Strand, 
both of which present many good features. Passing by many architects 
of less note, we may mention Sir William Chambers, who greatly excelled 
his contemporaries, and many of his predecessors of this school. His 
greatest work is Somerset House, a description of which we regret being 
compelled to omit. 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 19 

Meanwhile, the French Eenaissance was brilliantly developing itself in 
innumerable palaces and churches and civil buildings. In the palaces, 
especially, are displayed the most original invention and profoundest 
knowledge of the art of design ever lavished upon the Renaissance. It 
would be impossible to enumerate and detail all the examples of this era 
in Franco, but we would especially signalize the royal chateaux and pal- 
aces of Blois, Chambord, Chinonceaux, Fontainebleau, the Tuileries, and 
the extensions of the Louvre. 

The London club houses exhibit some of the most happy attempts at 
Italian architecture, and are far preferable to ecclesiastical edifices built in 
this style ; a fact arising not so much from the respective merits of the 
architects employed, as from the better adaptation of the style for tliat par- 
ticular class of buildings. It has also of late been adopted for private 
mansions, both in town and country, for which it seems particularly fitted ; 
but for ecclesiastical structures, colleges, &c., the Gothic designs are rapid- 
ly superseding the Italian, while for public buildings for government, and 
other secular purposes, the Grecian is generally regarded as preferable, 
though in the great Parliament Houses of London the Perpendicular style 
has been imitated by Sir Charles Barry. 

Architecture, in our own country, has never taken any stand, or re- 
ceived especial attention till within the past few years. But in this brief 
time it has made unprecedented progress, and bids fair to advance at a 
much more rapid rate, so that before another century rolls by we shall 
undoubtedly be able to show an architecture which will be capable of taking 
its stand by the side of the great historical architectures of the world. To 
attain this end, we must not be mere copyists of those who have gone before. 
While we cull from the structures of all ages and countries those fea- 
tures which are applicable to our requirements, we must reject those which 
to us are without meaning or use, and, at the same time, add whatever may 
be suggested by the necessities of climate, habits, and education. 

To us, then, architecture becomes the most important of the arts, as by 
it we are destined to express in monumental language our worthiness to 
occupy a place among the civilized nations of Christendom, and by every 
consideration, therefore, we urge that it receive, in our colleges and schools, 
that attention and cultivation to which it is eminently entitled. A knowl- 



20 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

edge of this art is abroad deemed no less essential than, among us, is that 
of music or any accomplishment. In England, the youth who could not 
tell what style of architecture prevailed in any given country would be re- 
garded as we would regard the American lad who is ignorant of an impor- 
tant era or event in our history. 

Thus Iiave we, briefly as might be, attempted some description of the 
rise and progress of this important art. Its details are far too extensive to 
be more than glanced at in our space, and our only object has been to main- 
tain and illustrate the idea that architecture is an art which, as its founda- 
tions are laid in utility, is eminently progressive. A retrospect of its his- 
tory cannot fail to impress the thoughtful student with the idea that its 
triumphs under so many and great difficulties demonstrate most satisfac- 
torily its manifest destiny to continue its majestic growth and expansion, 
as we grow and expand in all the arts of peace and prosperity. Conscious 
of our own inability worthily to display the beauties of oiir subject, we 
shall be amply repaid if by our effort any degree of attention may be at- 
tracted to this subject and, in the mind of our reader, our original position 
sustained, however imperfectly — that " architecture is the first and noblest 
of the arts." 



ADVANTAGES OF A COUITTET LITE. 

In this country, like those of Europe, more especially that portion 
inhabited by the Anglo-Saxon race, the inclinations of the people, save 
where perverted by unwholesome education, seem decidedly in favor of a 
rural life ; already there are many families of culture and refinement who 
spend all their days in their country homes, or, if they leave them, they do 
so only for a few months in winter, when nature, disrobed of her more 
pleasing ornaments, with scourges of snow, and sleet, and bitter cold, 
drives even her most constant votaries to seek the social comforts of the 
city. But it is a source of rejoicing when they are reached by the 
march of spring from the dissipation and the artificialities of town life to 
the simpler and purer pleasures which she gives. Tliere is another class, 
which, though compelled to spend the business hours of the day in the 
city, gladly hasten when these are over to peaceful homes, removed from 
the bustle and turmoil of the crowded town. This manner of living is 
becoming very popular, especially among the business community ; and 
now that we have so many and ready means of communication between 
cities and their suburbs for many miles around, and at so trifling an ex- 
pense, it is rather to be wondered at that more do not adopt it. The ob- 
jection that too much time is thus lost in travelling to and fro is not well 
founded, since it actually requires but little more to reach a country place 
twenty miles from town than to go from an ofiice in Wall Street to a resi- 
dence in the upper part of the city. 

It seems scarcely necessary at this day to bring forward any formal 
arguments in favor of country life. It has beeen the favorite theme of 



22 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

philosophers and poets in all times. Its pure and elevating influences, its 
comfortable ease, its simplicity and cheapness, have been urged again and 
again in grave essays and pleasant pastoral and bucolic meditations. Yet 
there is one consideration to which we, by permission, wish briefly to draw 
the attention of our readers. "We refer to that of liealth. It is often de- 
clared that the human race, at least in this country, is degenerating ; and 
there appears to be some foundation for this remark as ajiplied to our 
large towns. We look at a tall, muscular, well-develoiDed form, in all its 
rare physique, rather as the heritage of some heroic past than an expres- 
sion of life such, as we now lead, which seems rather to produce a 
weak-eyed, narrow-chested race, with sallow complexions, weak constitu- 
tions, and, in short, but little physical force. We rather run to brains, and 
are content to read the exploits of Achilles and Hector in our classics, 
rather than emulate their strength and pi-owess. We touch with delicate 
hands the great, rude armor in the Tower, and wonder at the huge-limbed 
generation which wore it as we do our silk and broadcloth. We are thus 
forced to inquire why so marked a deterioration has taken place. It has 
been said that we Anierieans are not acclimated in this New World ; that 
this decline has been constantly going on from the days of our forefathers. 
But we need not go back far in time or deep in science to account for this 
change. The secret lies in our artificial lives. We do not breathe enough 
of the pure, fresh air of heaven ; the little exercise we take is spasmodic 
and business-like ; and, worse than all, we are irregular in our habits, im- 
prudent in diet and exj^osure, and indulge too freely in the well-known dis- 
sipations of city life. In many cases, perhaps in the majority, the leaving 
of town in the summer is but another phase of the same life, with simply 
a change of scene from the city to some fashionable watering place, with a 
repetition of the routine of dress, suppers, and late hours. Such life iS 
unnatural and injurious, simply because it is artificial. If, then, we would 
leave the city, not for fashion, but for prudence ; if we would really recupe- 
rate our strength and energies, we must seek the repose of a genuine coun- 
try home, and those remedies which nature provides with a lavish but 
never-failing hand. 

Let us presume that, influenced by these and the many other considera- 
tions which will suggest themselves to the intelligent reader, it is decided 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 23 

to build a home somewliere in the country. Where shall it he ? A home- 
stead — for we would not build for ourselves alone, but for those who may- 
succeed us — naturally suggests a place somewhat isolated and independent, 
rather than a residence on the street of a country town or iTllage : it should 
be complete in itself, liberal in extent, and free from all intrusions — in fine, a 
little princijjality. Do not suppose that such a country home can be secured 
only by the wealthy, and that those of more moderate means can expect 
nothing better than a house, elbowed by neighbors, in the closer subm-bs 
of a town, or at most a lot in a village, where one must be content with 
half an acre of land, and submit ease and domestic quiet to the scmtiny of 
tattling gossips and the curiosity of the vulgar. The inconveniences and 
petty annoyances of such life are so well known, that one of limited means, 
who would make himself a home in the country, would do well to inquu-e 
if it is necessary to submit to them, or if they cannot economically be 
avoided. 

It is generally thought that the establishment of a country pla«e, with 
several acres of land, involves a great original outlay and a large increase 
of taxes, which, added to the interest on the investment, makes a heavy 
rent ; that a residence of this kind involves the necessity of keeping a 
horse and conveyance of some kind, and a man servant to take care of 
them. Now we reply by reminding om* readers, that six acres in the 
country can generally be had for a smaller sum than half an acre in a vil- 
lage, with a proportional dili'erence in taxes. Again, we may safely con- 
sider that the produce of a little farm, if prudently managed, will not only 
support both man and horse, but, with attention, can be made a source of 
profit, and supply to its owner many haxuries of a superior kind and at 
little cost. Moreover, in improving the place and elaborating its culture, 
he obtains a nobler profit than this — an inheritance of happiness and con- 
tent for his children. 

Our country abounds in most interesting and picturesque scenery, 
embracing ocean, river, lake, and mountain, easy of access, habitable and 
healthy ; and, though filled with delightful villa sites, is too frequently 
suffered to remain neglected and unpeopled in its choicest nooks. Those 
proposing to build in the country, are much more likely to select some 
spot destitute of almost every natural embellishment. There appears to 



24 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

be little appreciative aj)titiicle for the association of homes with natural 
beauty. If the ground is entirely level, free from rocks, hills, dales, water, 
and trees, it is claimed and occupied quite as readily as some site equally 
accessible and adorned with all the picturesque or gentle loveliness of na- 
ture — perhaps even more so. People like to visit such places, but they 
will not live there. A fine view and romantic scenery seem to be second- 
ary considerations to other and less elevated advantages, such as neighbors, 
proximity to railway stations, &c. It must be granted, however, that rural 
taste has greatly improved since the days of Downing. Until the present 
time the professions of architecture and landscape gardening have been 
nearly new among us, and practised mostly by strangers ; but now that so 
many young Americans of intelligence and culture are studying and as- 
suming these professions, we may reasonably hope to see more interest 
taken in them, and the happy revolution, so long delayed, at length realized 
and effected. 

Giving these reflections their due weight, let lis now proceed to select 
a site. Accessibility, neighborhood, and health, are, of course, primary 
considerations, and in most instances it would be improper to sacrifice any 
of these, even to the desire to live in the midst of natural beauty. Fortu- 
nately, however, we are rarely obliged to go far before we find plenty of 
locations which combine natural beauty with all the practical advantages 
we can wisli for. We are naturally attracted by fertility of soil ; but if 
we do not proj)ose to establish a productive farm, simply for the sake of its 
productiveness, it would be well to inquire, before settling in any such 
locality, about the healthfulness of it ; for the most fertile spots are fre- 
quently the most insalubrious. Burton, in his " Anatomy of Melancholy," 
quaintly draws our attention to this fact. " The best soil commonly yields 
the worst air ; a dry, sandy plat is fittest to build upon, and such as is 
rather hilly, than a plain full of downs ; a cotswold country, as being most 
commodious for hawking, hunting, wood, waters, and all manner of pleas- 
ures." After enumerating many such tracts of land, he goes on to say 
that Stephanus, a Frenchman, agrees with " Cato, Yarro, Columella, those 
ancient rusticks," in the idea that the front of a house should " stand to 
the south," and approves especially of " the descent of a hill south 
or southeast, with trees to the north, so that it will' be well watered ; a 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 25 

condition in all sites which must not be omitted, as Herbastein incul- 
cates." 

It is an erroneous idea to suppose that your house must necessarily be 
approached by the highway. If you own to the main road, you may, of 
coiirse, have your gate entrance on your own land ; if not, you have only 
to obtain a right of way from your neighbor, and continue your carriage 
road through his grounds. There is rarely any difficulty in the way of 
obtaining this privilege. In selecting a site, it is well to have higher 
ground on the northern and western sides to screen your house in winter 
from chilling winds. Do not allow picturescpie rocks, or wild forest trees to 
influence your decision against any site, as, in case such features appear too 
rude for your notions of the elegant repose and gentleness which should 
surround your domicil, your landscape gardener can always reconcile them, 
domesticate them, as it were ; in short, make them beautiful and appro- 
priate ; and your architect, if a man of taste and education, can arrange your 
house to combine gracefulness with any peculiarities of coimtry, and give 
it such character as will be congruous with surrounding scenery. 

It is well to warn our readers against adopting any plan of a model 
house, or the design in some book, which there may present a pleasing ex- 
terior, without careful consideration of its adaptability to their grounds. 
Such designs may, perhaps, be suitable in every respect for their intended 
site ; but when placed on a different one, may be quite the reverse. In 
the one case, the kitchen, hall, and minor offices may occupy the least de- 
sirable exposures, and obstruct no views, biit by their position shelter the 
house from wind and storm ; in the other, all may be changed. None of the 
advantages of the new situation will be improved. The drawing room, 
perhaps, looks out upon the farm yard ; the dining room, with a fine bay 
window, from which originally might have been enjoyed three distinct 
views, commands an iminterrupted prospect of the stable, the kitchen gar- 
den, or some low, flat, and uninteresting country ; while really the only 
pleasantly sitiiated room is, fortunately for the servants, apj)ropriatcd to 
their avocations. So, too, the external appearance of the house may be 
little fitted for its new position. It may be Italian in style, adapted to a 
level, grassy lawn, pleasantly shaded by majestic elms and maples. Your 
site, however, is perhaps picturesque, covered wildly with oak, and cedar, 



26 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

and larches, full of sudden surprises of form and color. To place an Italian 
villa here, is like adorning a wigwam with the Venus de Milo. Let us 
rather, for such a locality, adopt motives from the irregular Gothic, with its 
pointed roofs, lofty towers and chimneys, and varied outline ; or from some 
other congenial styles. 

Though architecture is comparatively so new, and has received so little 
earnest and serious attention from us as a nation, that we can scarcely be 
said to have any styles or systems peculiarly our own, yet there have 
grown out of our necessities certain idiosyncracies of building and design, 
which are doubtless in the way of establishing that long-dreamed-of aim, 
an American style. In the absence of such a style, we have been too apt 
to borrow bodily and without change from those of foreign countries, 
which are the expressions of the especial needs and social conditions of those 
countries and those alone. It is certainly our duty to introduce from abroad 
methods and manners of design, so far as they meet our wants. But it 
would be worse than folly, in building an English cottage, for example, not 
to have a veranda, because its prototypes in England have none ; we have 
an actual need for such an appliance in our dry and sunny climate, and it 
is out of such need that must proceed a distinctive feature of American 
cottage architecture. "While, therefore, we avail ourselves of all the good 
points of the different styles, and make ourselves fandliar with them, we 
should not so venerate as to fear to change them when we find that our 
necessities require it. 

Thus, doubtless, we are building up styles of our own, taught, as 
other founders of styles have been, by precedents in older countries or 
times. Our climates, habits, and materials differ enough from those of 
Europe to demand different architectural arrangements and treatments. 
For instance, most of our coiintry abounds in timber, a most excellent 
building material. In this respect we differ from Europe, where wood is 
much more rare and expensive. Yet, in our careless and blind way, we 
have proceeded to copy in this material, as exactly as we can, the details 
of foreign architecture, which were intended to express the constructive 
capacities of stone or brick. The temples of Greece, built of marble, with 
their ponderous shafts, entablatures, and pediments, have all been repeated 
in this country in wood, painted white, and blocked in courses to imitate 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 27 

stone, and often sanded to perfect the intended deception. So, too, with 
the feudal castles of England ; they are here revived, and, with their frown- 
ing battlements and towers, are built of the same improper material. The 
grand old massive cathedrals and churches of by -gone days have not es- 
caped the same indignity. How absurd it must seem to a stranger to see 
a Eoman arch, key-stone and all, imitated in wood, or a buttress of Iiollow 
woodwork, or a simple cottage painted to resemble stone. Fortunately, our 
people are awakening to the folly of this unmeaning imitation, and where 
stone is adopted it is treated as stone, and where wood is employed we are 
properly beginning to show details adapted to the material, such as pro- 
jecting roofs and framed brackets descending from the rafters, with a 
lighter and more fitting construction of verandas and balconies. 

But there are some portions of our country, as in most of the Eastern 
and Middle States, where wood is by no means abundant. In many lo- 
calities we have barely enough left for shade, and some of the finest sites 
have been stripped of their luxuriant and noble growth of trees. We have 
been wastefully extravagant of our timber, and should now sometimes be 
at a loss for building materials, had not nature provided another near at 
hand, and in sucli profusion that we are really compelled to use it or to 
remove it from our way. This, we need hardly say, is stone, which is 
constantly growing in favor and use. 

People who build in the country are often like those wlio plant trees, 
whose full luxuriance they tliemselves cian never expect to enjoy ; and the 
children who come after them reap the benefit of the generous fore- 
thought. When we have procured a rude piece of ground, cleared it, 
planted it, beautified it, constructed the roads, and erected house, stable, 
and all the fixtures of a homestead thereon, we cannot realize from its sale 
the value of our time, trouble, and outlay. The reward is in the comfort 
of our declining years, and the happiness of our descendants. A country 
house is a cheap luxuri/, which we buy, build, or inherit for ourselves and 
our children. Such being the intention, evidently it should be built of 
the most durable materials. Nor is stone so exjiensive when we regard its 
use in a proper light ; nay, we may even say it is cheaper in tlie end. 
Take, for example. Design No. 9, which cost about $5,000. Tlie owner 
says his house is perfectly dry, stands in the best manner, and requires 



28 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

much less fuel to warm it than he has been in the habit of using in frame 
houses of the same size. With this may be compared a house very similar 
and of about the same cost, but built of wood, whose owner declares that 
he is obliged to j)aint the outside every two or three years to preserve the 
woodwork and make it appear resjjectable. Frequent repairs are also 
necessary on the exterior ; some of the timbers have sprung, the floors are 
uneven, and the walls and ceilings cracked. His roof, which is of shingles, 
he says frequently leaks, and a new one will soon be required. Tliesc re- 
pairs demand no small outlay each year, all of which, with the great at- 
tendent inconveniences, might have been avoided, had he built of stone 
with a slate roof. A prejudice has extensively prevailed against stone 
houses on account of their dampness ; an objection which has not been un- 
founded, but which is now wholly removed by building the outside walls 
hollow ; that is, using brick furring within a few inches of the external M'all, 
and fastened to it by iron anchors. The old plan was to nail wooden strips 
to the inside of stone walls, and lath and plaster upon these ; but this 
affords no protection from the dampness. Again, should the outside wall 
settle, the plaster must be cracked, while the brick furring would settle 
with the stone ; so, too, the wood furring is apt to shrink from having the 
warm room on one side and the cold or damp wall on the other. 

Li Design Ko. 9, already alluded to, the brick furring is used, thus 
making it a house within a house ; it has an outside stone wall 18 inches 
thick, a hollow space of 3 inches, and a brick wall of 4 inches. The 
plastering is done on the inside surface of the brick, consequently no lath- 
ing is required, and but two coats of plaster instead of three. This avoids 
the difficidties spoken of, and is proof from vermin and fire. The hollow 
space acts as a perfect ventilating flue throughout the house, and by having 
outside registers, which can be closed in cold weather, and a register at the 
floor and ceiling of each room, a constant circulation may be obtained. It 
is well to continue this hollow space up to the roof rafters, and the air, fol- 
lowing the space between these rafters up to the scuttle between roof and 
ceiling, will keep the attic perfectly cool in summer. 

As to the durability of stone, no argument is, of course, required. We 
have only to visit older countries to find walls which have stood hundreds 
of years, and there is no reason why we may not have them of equal dura- 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 29 

bility. There is an air of dignity and stability about a stone structure, 
and age, so far from being destructive to it, serves only to increase its solid- 
ity and improve its appearance. What can be more beautiful and pic- 
turesque than an old stone edifice, overgrown with moss and shaded by 
noble trees, all indicating that time has but improved the work of art ? 
What would be the case with a wooden structure under similar circum- 
stances ? " Decay's efiacing fingers " are constantly at work, and walls 
of wood offer an effectual field for their labors. Frequent and expensive 
repairs present but feeble resistance to the progress of dilapidation. The 
building must crumble and fall in the process of a few generations. The 
wood rots, the roof leaks, the walls and ceilings are cracked by the shrink- 
ing and settling of the timbers. With such facts known to us, there can 
be no doubt which of these two materials is the most suitable and econom- 
ical. Moreover, vines, the pleasantest adornments of a cottage wall, ivy 
and woodbine, with which nature seems to take possession of the works of 
oui" hands and tenderly take them to her bosom, cling without detriment 
to stone, while, attached to wood, they are the readiest agents of decay. 

But, whatever material you use, remember the maxim, " Trufhfuluess 
in building." Let the treatment correspond with the substance with which 
you build. Do not carve stone details out of wood, nor, with false pride, 
attempt to make it resemble something else. Above all, do not try to hide 
the face of stonework with plaster, painted to appear as if dressed. One 
need never blush at any expression of truthfulness in his dwelling, how- 
ever homely that expression may be ; but falsehood and imitation give 
indisputable evidence of vulgarity of taste — snobhishncss is the modern 
word. 

Having selected the site and chosen the material, the next step is to 
procure a design best suited to the wants and conveniences of your family, 
improving the advantages of the finest exposures and views, protecting 
yourself from the inclement points in M'intcr, and excluding from sight the 
objectionable portions of the grounds. And we camiot reiterate too often 
the injunction, that in external treatment the house should harmonize 
with the surrounding scenery. Can you furnish this design yourself? 
Decidedly not, unless you have spent years in study and practice. Or, pos- 
sessing good ideas yourself, can a carpenter or mason carry them into a 



30 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

successful realization ? We tliink not, for sucli men, however excellent 
their workmanship may he, cannot be supposed to sympathize with your 
more refined notions of domestic elegance and comfort. They must, to a 
certain extent, realize them, but they cannot understand the sentiment 
Avhich should pervade a design, and are content to copy and imitate, in- 
stead of composing and adapting according to the necessities of the 
problem laid before them. 

The planning of a country house is something so peculiar and intricate, 
and demands careful study of so many oiitlyiug considerations, that none 
but an architect can do it justice. In a city house, to produce a merely 
respectable work, pei-haps less jiidgment is required, as the process of de- 
sign must be more or less conventional, and a certain degree of sameness is 
unavoidable, the same laws and re(piirements holding good, to a large ex- 
tent, in all cases. Each house must stand on a fixed street line, and the 
general shape and arrangement must be somewhat similar. For the most 
part, it seems that the only room for the architect to display his originality 
is in elaborating his fa9ade ; and tlie restrictions of his street line, his 
twenty-five feet front, the city ordinances, and the conventionality of his 
plan, must act as a great check upon liberty of design. The only way in 
which he can vary the external appearance of his house from that of liis 
neighbor, is in Iieight of walls and stories, in material, and the detailed' 
treatment of the uniform requirements. And eveii this variety must be 
restricted by the necessity of so harmonizing the facade with those in its 
neighborhood, as to prevent lines of one character, though good in them- 
selves, from being nullified or injured by lines of another charactei-, equally 
good, which may exist in proximity. 

"We do not mean to assert that all the buildings in a block should be 
uniform in all particulars, for irregularity is one of the chief beauties of 
architecture ; but we do mean to say that one building should not be 
erected without some regard to harmony with those in the neighborhood, 
any more than a country house should be built in a style at variance with 
the character of surrounding scenciy. To illustrate this idea with respect 
to harmonious city architecture, we would refer the reader to Design 
No. 30. 

In the country, however, we are not restrained by any of these laws. 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 31 

but the field for design is as boundless as the variety of nature ; and so is 
it not in bad taste to build in tlie country, on some choice, picturesque, or 
beautiful spot, a house thoroughly adapted to the city in all its details ? 
Yet this is the most popular mode of country building. The vignette on 
Design No. 18, shows somewhat of this tendency, except that the roofs 
are usually flat, and that there are five windows in front. The interior 
corresponds exactly with that of a city house ; having one lai'ge room with 
sliding doors, and two windows at either end. These, with the door, quite 
overload the front, and give to it an unpleasant aspect of formality. There 
is an obvious necessity for two \vindows in a city house, there being no 
other access for light ; but here, M-here side windows are always added, 
giving twice the light that is obtained in a city drawing room, the rooms 
become crowded with useless windows, which give ready access to an over- 
plus of cold in winter and heat in summer ; and, as if to render the whole 
thing more absurd, many of these unnecessary openings are covered all 
the year round with blinds. No good reasons can be assigned for such 
concessions to fashion, and" nothing can justify the conversion of a quiet 
rural retreat into a formal town-house. That others have done so, and con- 
tinue to do so, is no excuse. From their folly let us learn wisdom. 

The designs contained in this work are not intended for model houses, 
to be copied for all localities, but simply to show how important it is to 
have an original design adapted to the peculiarities of site, and how en- 
tirely erroneous it is to stereotype houses, all over the country, as has been 
the custom. Having selected yoxir architect, let him visit the proj)osed site, 
that with careful study he may discover all its natural advantages, its ex- 
posures, its views, its facilities for drainage, «fec., as also the disadvantages 
with which he must contend. Make him acquainted with your general 
wants, the height of your ceilings, the size and number of your rooms, and 
what other little details you may wish to have carried out ; but the main 
arrangement, both inside and out, you will do well to leave wholly to him. 
This done, he will make you a sketch, embodying an architectural inter- 
pretation or modification of your ideas, and submit it for your approval 
and examination. Tlieu, all further alterations and details of plan which 
may be desired being thoroughly iinderstood by both parties, the proper 
working drawings will be made, subject to all the conditions of the amend- 



32 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

eel design, careful specifications and contracts will be drawn up, and the 
wliole submitted to the competition of several contractors, all of whom are 
known to be responsible. Thus the cheapest, readiest, and most effectual 
means of patting your intentions into execution will be obtained. During 
the progress of the work, in addition to these working drawings, consisting 
of the floor plans and elevations, the architect will furnish enlarged detail 
drawings, showing sections of external mouldings, &c., together with the 
internal members not seen on the other working drawings, and what other 
constructive explanations may be needed. That the true intent and mean- 
ing of the design may be carried out, it is essential that the architect 
should superintend the construction. He should visit the bxiilding during 
its erection, and explain the designs, and render the contractor all neces- 
saiy architectural inlbrmation. 




■cMa 



Pa„. S.h 



DESIGN N? 1. 







^ 



imF 






7\ 



1 1 I 1 1 I I I I I.I u 



DESIGN No. 1 



FrRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Carriage Gate. 

2. Gate for foot passengers. 

3. Entrance Porch. 

4. Main Hall. 

5. Kitchen, 15 x 20. 

6. Sitting Room, 15 x 20. 

7. Stairway Hall. 

8. Rear Entrance Porch. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 

9. Stairway Hall. 

10. Bath Room, 6x7. 

11. Chamber, 13 x 15. 

12. " 12 x 16. 

13. " 13 X 15. 

14. Linen Closets. 



This design may serve the double purpose of a Gate Lodge 
and Farm House, though the drawing was rather intended for the 
former, and to represent an entrance to grounds on which we pro- 
pose to erect a mansion. 

The architecture is of simple character, suitable for the ad- 
junct of a neat and spacious villa, yet sufficiently pretentious to 
prepare us for yet greater elegance as we proceed. 

There are but two rooms on the first floor — the one a kitchen, 
and the other a sitting room or parlor. These two rooms, being 
opposite each other, are entered by folding doors, which when 
open communicalje through the hall, thus throwing the entire floor 

into one suite. 

7 



34: HOLLY'S COUNTEY SEATS. 

The stairs, it Avill be observed, are located in sucli a mauuer as 
to leave the main hall unobstructed, thus removing the thorough- 
fare from the body of the house ; which object is also facilitated by 
a rear entrance on fii'st floor and basement. 

The second floor is very spacious, being much larger than the 
first on account of its projection over the entrance porch. By 
this means we have an additional chamber, making' three in all 
each provided with a closet. On the right is a large linen closet, 
while on the left is placed what may be deemed an unusual and 
perhaps unnecessary convenience for a gate lodge — a bath room. 
Certainly there is the truest and most humane economy in pro- 
viding servants and all those under our protection with the means 
of enjoying the great blessing of cleanliness, which is the first ad- 
vance to civilization, refinement, and self-respect. 

The windows of this second story are somewhat elevated, but 
are so placed to avoid cutting through the wall plate, or hori- 
zontal beam on which the roof rests, thereby weakening the build- 
ing and increasing the expense. 

With reference to Gate Lodges it may be remarked, that for 
places of moderate size such an appendage is pretentious and in- 
appropriate. Too frequently we meet with an'ostentatious lodge 
standing but a few j)aces from a modest dwelling, disjilaying a sin- 
gular disregard of the obvious jDroprieties of life, without the ex- 
cuse of usefulness. When the domain is extensive, and the resi- 
dence properly located at a distance from the highway, an en- 
trance lodge is highly appropriate and necessary, not only as a 
home for the gardener or farmer, where one of the family may 
always be in readiness to open and close the gates on the ari-ival 
of carriages, but as a protection to the place from the trespass of 
improper persons. Lodges may not be considered objectionable 
features when attached to places situated near the road, if the 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 85 

grounds are so planned and planted as to afford a proper amount 
of retirement from observation, and througli tlie contrivance of 
the landscape gardening are made to appear more ample tban 
tliey are. It is proposed to presently treat this subject of arti- 
ficial perspective more at large. 

Gate Lodges, as well as all other outbuildings, should, in their 
architectural treatment, partake somewhat of the style of the 
dwellings to which they are subordinate, but should in all cases 
be of a much simpler and perhaps of a more rustic character, as is 
befitting their modest oflice in the duties of household hospitality. 

Estimate. — A Gate Lodge of this character could be built, 
under favorable circumstances, for from $800 to $1,000.* 

* The following estimates iuclude simply the mason's and carpenter's contracts. 




'^^K>r 



'ls?,si,«jS^w,<^.:^'S5^p 



D ES 1 G (S N" 2. 




I if '/ V'i'jiHSSi JjSi: —•__=; 



•;W5»e=rt»sr 










DESIGN No. 2. 

The architect, in the discharge of his duties, is called upou to 
perforin many severe tasks, but none more arduous than that of 
remodelling a country house, where he has to contend with the 
blunders and conventional distortions of " cai'penters' architec- 
ture," to develop harmony out of discord, beauty out of ugliness, 
elegance out of the commonplace. Consider, reader, how you 
would appal an artist of recognised ability by applying to him to 
finish a picture commenced by one who had no more exalted idea 
of art than what might be acquired in the aesthetic meditations of 
house and sign painting ; how you would shock a Hosmer or 
Powers by presenting for the finishing touches of their delicate 
chisels some rude sculpture attempted by an ordinary stonecutter. 
Would not the enthusiastic devotee of art wonder at your apply- 
ing to such a source at the first, and still more when you would 
have him remodel and give to the ill-used marble character and 
expression ? Would he not, with all the eloquence inspired by 
his profession, remonstrate against your course in employing at 
the outset so inferior an artist, and earnestly set forth the difliculty 
of overcoming the many radical errors of the inexperienced tyro ? 
Would he not justly fear the injury he might do his own reputa- 
tion by undertaking it at all ? Yet every day do we see men of 
wealth, and sometimes of intelligence, applying to ignorant build- 



38 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

ers, self-styled architects, to furnish designs for cottages, villas, or 
even mansions of great pretension. 

For in that very worthy class of mechanics; some one may be 
found in every town, whose ambition or conceit has so led him 
astray from his true jiath, that we find him rushing in where art- 
ists might fear to tread, and leaving such traces of his folly as ren- 
der the whole neighborhood hideous with the whims of his untu- 
tored imagination. He may " draught a plan " which on paper 
will deceive the eye of the client, and actually persuade him into 
the delusion that, as it is the composition of a " practical man," it 
will a2-)pear well when erected. For many have thus unfortunately 
built in haste, and repented at leisure. 

The usual resort in such cases, after the l)ullding is spoiled, is 
to apply to an architect of recognized al:)ility to remodel the work. 
With perplexed brain the pi'ofessioual man sets about his expen- 
sive and difficult task of correcting that which, had it in the outset 
been properly done, would have saved both himself and the owner 
much vexation and annoyance. 

Design No. 2 represents a cottage which the author remodelled 
for Dr. C. W. Ballai-d, at Noroton Darien, Conn. The original 
structure, which is shown in the vignette at the left, was purchased 
by its present owner of a farmer, and is a good specimen of the 
small farm houses or cottages of Connecticut. Devoid of beauty, 
grace, or expression, pinched and contracted in all its features, 
placed usually in the most unattractive spot, directly on the road, 
with a formal aA'enue of cherry trees leading up to the dooi'. These 
structures are indefinitely multi^ilied in the rural districts, and are 
the natural homes of a thrifty and enterprising, but unimaginative, 
tasteless, and perhaps overworked people. 

The ceilings are low, and the rooms small, crooked, and with- 
out ventilation ; green wooden shutters adorn the windows, and 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 



39 



the outer walls, if painted at all, are sure to be of a staring white 
or a brilliant red ; yet within the shadow of the humblest of these 
cottages have been born and reared some of the most distiuo-uished 
men of our history. Perhaps there still exist, under such unprom- 
ising shelter, many " hands which the rod of empire might have 
swayed." Let it be our task to surround them with such refining 
influences as will render them better fitted for the higher and 
nobler life, and will smooth for them the upward path. Let us, in 
short, give them homes which may refine and elevate as well as 
shelter. 

Yet, when a man of true taste and refinement comes in posses- 
sion of so unpromising a subject as this, our drawing, we think, 
proves that with no considerable expense, effects of a striking and 
elegant nature may be produced, and the wholly unprepossessing 
building, under proper hands, be made comparatively a model of 
beauty no less than of convenience. 

The vignette on the right represents an ornamental well curb, 
and shows how that appendage, ordinarily so awkward and un- 
gainly, may be made a pleasing feature of the grounds, and an 
earnest of the elegant hospitality of the residence to which it is 
attached. The well, ever grateful in its associations with memo- 
ries of dripping coolness, in the parched summer time, of mid-day 
repose, and of many an office of friendship in the presenting of 
the cup of cold water to the weary traveller, should always be 
adorned with the most aftectionate fancies at our command. 







^■'■'rl^ 



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PituI Schulsa.d.l 



DESIGN N 1^ 3 



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DESIGN No. 3. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Veranda. 

2. Sitting Room, 15 x 16. 

3. Dining Room, 15 x 16. 

4. China Closet. 

5. Closet (Dumb Waiter). 

6. Hall. 

7. Porch. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 

8. Hall. 

9. Linen Closet. 

10. Bedroom, 13 x 16. 

11. " 15 X 16. 

12. " 8 X 14. 



It is often imagined by those wlio desire to build economically, 
that beauty is an extravagance in which they cannot indulge, and 
therefore that a cheap cottage can necessarily have no pretensions 
to elegance, and barely suffice for the comfort and shelter of its 
occupants : no higher aim is attempted. This error arises from the 
false but prevalent idea that beauty and grace are entirely ex- 
traneous considerations, rather matters of ornament than pro- 
portion and symmetry of parts. For this reason many small 
houses, whose owners wish to render them objects of taste, are 
loaded down with unmeaning and expensive decorations, or so 
frittered away with cheap and ready expedients of boards sawn, 
cut, planed, and otherwise tortured into utter uselessness and 
absurdity, that the entire building becomes subordinate to its 



42 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

appendages, and the arrangement of its important masses is 
entirely lost sight of. 

When the architect is called upon to design a very cheap 
building, he must be content to express his art in the fitness and 
proportion of all its parts; he must combine beauty with the 
strictest utility. Thus in this design, which was prepared for a 
gentleman in Connecticut, we have availed ourselves of the ne- 
cessity of providing an artificial shade Ijy simply projecting the 
eaves ; this at once gives to the cottage a pleasant expression of 
shelter. The windows naturally require more protection from the 
sun and rain than the walls, and, therefore, 'over these the eaves 
are extended one foot more than elsewhere, and in consequence of 
this extra projection requii'e brackets for support. 

The veranda in our climate has become a national feature, and 
is certainly a most useful as well as ornamental appendage to a 
house. In this particular instance its introduction adds much to 
the beauty and comfort of the cottage. An ornamental rail pi-o- 
tects its sides, while strong timber brackets assist in supporting 
the superincumbent weight. 

The bay window, always a charming feature, blends harmo- 
niously with the design, and, by its intervention, breaks up a 
formal regularity of wall, both outside and in. Though of small 
dimensions, it not only materially enlarges the actual size of the 
room to which it is attached, but apparently, through the per- 
spective eflfect always produced by an outward break of this kind, 
opens a much larger space within than it really does. 

These then, it will be observed, are matters of practical utility 
in pi'otection, construction, and comfort, and the only feature that 
seems superfluous is the ornament on the roof This, it is 
granted, according to strict rules of economy, might be omitted, 
for there can be no other than an sesthetical use attributed to it. 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 43 

especially as the chimney, from its central position, has the eflfect 
of relieving the roof and sustaining the soaring tendency of the 
lines ; still, to project a pattern like this against the sky on any 
ridge, certainly gives a very desirable and emphatic quality of 
crispiness to the design. 

The first floor is arranged with sitting and dining rooms ; the 
latter having two closets, one for china, and the other containing a 
dumb waiter which communicates with the "kitchen below. The 
second floor comprises three good bedrooms and a linen closet. 
This story, for jDurposes of economy, is low, the side walls being 
six feet high to the roof, whence the ceiling starts at an angle, 
somewhat less than that of the roof, making the ceiling flatter 
and forming an air space between it and the roof, which pro- 
tects the rooms from extemial changes of atmosphere. This ob- 
ject is also facilitated by the ceiling being deafened, thus making 
these rooms as comfortable as if they had an entire story over 
them. 

It will be seen by this that we contrive to obviate that great 
objection commonly entertained against houses of a story and a 
half in height, that the bedrooms are like ovens in summer, and 
like refrigerators at other seasons. We would take advantage of 
this opportunity strongly to recommend the use of deafening in all 
floors ; as it is not only serviceable in preventing the passage of 
sound from one room to another, but in binding the floors together 
and rendering them stiflfer and more solid. Little expenditures 
like these, judiciously made, will never be regretted when the 
house is finished, since they soon pay for themselves in a saving of 
fuel, to say nothing of the protection they give from dampness, 
heat, and cold. 

Estimate. — This design, though on a somewhat larger scale, 



44 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

was built for John W. Slieddeu, Esq., on the Morris and Essex 
Railroad, about one mile beyond South Orange, N. J. With 
an arrangement as shown, it would cost from |800 to $1,000, 
being of about the same dimensions as design No. 1. 




DESIGN N": 4- 




7 



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DESIGN No. 4. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN, 

1. Entrance Porch. 

2. Hall. 

3. Terrace. 

4. Library, 15 x 18. 

5. Dining Room, 19 x 25. 

6. Closet. 

7. Do. 

8. Drawing Room, 17 x 24. 

9. Terrace. 



SECOND STORY PLAN. 

10. Hall. 

11. Linen Closet. 

12. Chamber, 15 x'lS. 

13. Do. 16 X 25. 

14. Do. 17 X 24 



This design is for a cheap cottage, witli commodious accommo- 
dations, and of pleasing external appearance, uniting economy 
and convenience. It was intended for a village lot in Stamford, 
Conn., of 75 feet frontage, of which the principal facade of the 
house was to occupy 25 feet, giving an equal space on either side. 
The house is of two stories, with a basement and attic, affording a 
spacious drawing room, library, and dining room on the first floor, 
with sis large chambers on the second and in the attic. The bed- 
rooms for servants, with kitchen and store cellars, are in the base- 
ment. The kitchen communicates with the dining room by a dumb 
waiter, through one of the closets in the latter apartment. The 
opposite closet in this room is intended for china and table linen 
A large linen closet is shoMm on the second story. Instead of veran- 



46 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

das we have adopted terraces with canopy roofs over them, sup- 
ported by brackets, which are much more economical than j^osts 
or columns, though perhaps not as commodious. The entrance 
porch, which is at the side, has a balcony over it, with access 
from the second story hall. 

One peculiarity of this design is the truncated or "gambrel" 
roof, used to give space to the upper rooms, and to lessen the 
apparent height of the structure, which, if comjiosed of three en- 
tire stories, would be too lofty for the amount of ground it occu- 
pies. This expedient also gives a pleasing variety to the lines of the 
roof, a feature usually so bare of interest. Tliis differs from the 
common "gambrel" roof of New England farm houses and home- 
steads, in the projection of the eaves, and in the truncation of the 
gable ends, which makes a hipped roof of the upper slope, giving 
to the general outline a pleasant resemblance to the rustic hay- 
rick, and affording a more immediate shelter to the gable windows 
from the sun and rain. The decorated barge boards at the eaves 
produce shadows, relieve the walls, and serve as a protection to the 
sides of the house, thus forming a useful and ornamental appen- 
dage, often cheaper than brackets. The ballustrades of perforated 
plank, around the balconies and terraces, partake of the style of 
the house, corresponding with the barge boards, and contributing 
to the harmony of the design. 

One great advantage a7-chitects possess in this country is the 
strong contrast of light and shade produced by our clear atmo- 
sphere, which assists materially in producing good effects in liuild- 
ing. The introduction of irregularities, such as projections of 
roofs, canopies, verandas, and bay windows, together with the in- 
tersections of gables, dormers, and the height of chimneys, serve to 
break up the bare formality of the usual barn-like outline, and to 
obtain the ever varying sentiment and expression which the 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 47 

great Architect never fails to give to all his rocks and hills. Light 
and shade are the happiest instruments of design, and most easily 
procured in our climate, and are ever ready to give new life and 
spirit to forms properly managed for their play. The repetition 
of the perforated barge boards in shadow against the walls, ever 
making new interpretaions of its patterns, shows how tenderly and 
delicately nature assists the sympathetic architect. 

In cities, where the great value of land almost precludes the 
designer from availing himself of opposing masses of light and 
shade, which can be produced in emphasis only by costly irregu- 
lai'ities of plan, and large reentering angles of outer walls, it seems 
necessary to resort to some other expedient where delicacy of line 
is not considered a sufficient substitute for the more massive effects 
of cliiaro-oscuro. The luxurious and sensuous Mahometans, not 
content with the more serious and sober habits of the North in de- 
sign, not only were in the habit of breaking their sky lines with 
pierced parapets and lily patterns, with swelling domes, with end- 
less pinnacles and fantastic minarets, to a degree never thought of 
elsewhere, but availed themselves of strong and vivid contrasts of 
bright colors. It would be well for us to take a lesson from the 
Eastern nations in this respect, and while we repudiate perhaps, as 
undignified, any complete adaptation of their endless fancies of 
form, to study their picturesque use of external colors, and let the 
walls of our cities assume new life and meaning by contrasting 
tints of various bricks and stones, and the inti'oduction of brilliant 
tiles and slates of different quarries. This source of design, if used 
with discretion in our Metropolitan structures, would effect the 
happiest results, and preserve their architecture from inanity and 
insijiidity. But in the country, where growth of shapes and forms 
is unchecked by any considerations of economy of space, it seems 
almost superfluous to use decorative external color to any very 



48 HOLLY'S COUNTEY SEATS. 

great extent, certainly, we think, never for its own sake, as in the 
town ; but so fixr as it may serve to protect wooden surfaces, to 
assist in giving expression to form, and to harmonize masses with 
the nature around, its employment is of great value. It is, then, 
important to know hj what rule we are to be governed in the use 
of colors under these circumstances. It is evident that the general 
tint covering the plain surface of a small house surrounded by 
trees, should be light and cheerful, warm in its tone, and of a 
neutral rather than j^ositive character, as the latter very readily 
harmonizes with nature. But do not fall into the opposite extreme, 
and paint your house white, which is no color at all, always cold 
and glaring, and makes an ugly spot in any landscape ; we find 
nothinsf there to warrant so forcible an iutrusiou. A white build- 
ing might not be so objectionable in the city, where we have no na- 
ture to assimilate to and work with ; but in the country nothing 
but snow and chalk cliffs are white, and these put out the eyes by 
their intensity. Choose, then, any of the hundred soft, neuti*al 
tints which may afford to your house the cheerfulness or dignity it 
may require. These are to be determined especially by its loca- 
tion and size. A house of large and commanding proportions, 
occupying a conspicuous position in the scenery, would j^resent a 
ludicrous appearance if painted a light color ; while one of smaller 
size, subordinate to its natural surroundings, and well shaded by 
trees, would, if painted dark, give an impression of gloom. 

Having selected the general tint, the trimmings should be of a 
darker shade of the same, or a deeper color, to give them promi- 
nence, and assist in bringing out the design. The roof, when not 
covered with slate, should resemble it somewhat in color, and the 
window blinds, when used at all, should be darker even than the 
window dressings, and should assimilate in color to the general 
tone of the house. 



HOLLY'S COUNTKY SEATS. ■ 49 

It is always advisable to consult the architect as to his views 
in this matter of coloi-, since an improper apjjlicatiou of paint 
might quite nullify the effect of his design, and render that ridicu- 
lous which was intended to be dignified, small which was intended 
to appear large, and obtrusive which was intended to be modest 
and retiring. 

By a judicious subordination of various tints, many errors and 
incongruities of style may be lessened or quite concealed, and the 
good points of design be properly emphasized and made to assume 
a worthy prominence in the composition. 

Estimate. — This design would cost, under favorable circum- 
stances, about $3,000. 







r^u bchuize del 



D E S r C N NV 5. 





DESIGN No. 5, 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Veranda. 

2. Main Hall, 9 x 18. 

3. Drawing Room, 18 x 20. 

4. Veranda. 

5. Balcony. 

6. Staircase Hall. 

7. Store Room. 

8. Butler's Pantry. 

9. Dining Room, 16 x 18. 

10. Balcony. 

11. Library, 15 x 18. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 

12. Hall. 

13. Bedroom, 10 x 18. 

14. Do. 15 X 18. 

15. Linen Closets. 

16. Closets. 

17. Do. 

18. Bedroom, 18 x 20. 



This cottage, designed for some secluded valley in a wild and 
mountainous region, is irregular in its plan and very muct broken 
in its sky lines, in order the nearer to assimilate to the character of 
the scenery amidst which it is placed, and to form a natural part 
of it, according to the principle we have already touched upon. 
Considering these things, we have instinctively adopted some mo- 
tives from the Swiss Chalet, in which galleries, very projecting 
eaves, and great extent of roof are the prevailing features. 

A gentleman, by frequent communications with his architect, 
necessarily to a very great extent imprints his own character upon 
his house, and this is one of the most important aesthetic ends of 



52 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

the art, and proves liow possible it is to express in a manner even 
the most delicate idiosyncracies of human character. It is the 
duty of the architect, studying the desires and needs of his client, 
carefully to manage the design in all its parts, so as to fit into and 
harmonize with the lives to be spent under its roof. 

Thus a house of this kind, we think, will at once impress the 
beholder with the conviction that it is the habitation of a gentle- 
man of small family and limited means, yet possessing education 
and refinement, and an appreciation so delicate for the scenery 
amidst which he lives that he would have his very dwelling-place 
sympathize with it, and be a fit companion for its rocky undula- 
tions and its forests of pine and hemlock. 

The library, occupying the central portion of the house, shows 
that this is his favorite room, from which he can easily approach 
his drawing room on the one side or his dining room on the other. 
Evidently he is rather a man of nice literary taste than a close 
student, for this apartment is too liable to intrusion and household 
noise to serve the purposes of a study, strictly so considered. The 
size of his drawing room indicates his fondness for society, and the 
arrangement of the folding doors, by -which the entire first floor 
may be thrown into one apartment, gives evidence of generous 
hospitality and large social qualities. 

The dining room opens into a s^^acious butler's pantry, con- 
taining a dresser for table linen and china, also a sink with hot 
and cold water, and a dumb waiter communicating with a similar 
pantry below, cofinected with the kitchen. Over this pantry, in 
the second story, a bath room might be made ; but none is here 
introduced on account of the expense. The dining room and 
kitchen chimney is placed partly outside to give more room within, 
at the same time relieving the external plainness and forming one 
of the architectural features of the house. 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 53 

The balcony from tlie dining room window forms a shelter 
over the kitchen door, which, on account of the descent of the 
grade in this direction, is entirely above ground, making a fine, 
light, and dry kitchen, connecting with the store cellars and ser- 
vants' apai'tments, also on this floor. 

A kitchen arranged in this manner is better than one on the 
same level with the dining room, as in the latter case the erection 
of an additional building is necessary, increasing the expense, and 
being inconvenient by reason of the distance to the store cellars. 
By this arrangement also, the servants have apartments so removed 
that they are not brought into immediate contact with the family ; 
and if the floor is deafened the noise and disagreeable odors from 
the kitchen are more effectually excluded from the main house. 
The admii'able plan now generally in use, for dumb waiters, ren- 
ders them noiseless, and obviates entirely the necessity of passing 
up and down stairs for each article required. When possible, it is 
well to have the dumb waiter communicating between the cham- 
ber floors and kitchen, or laundry, to carry clean or soiled linen, 
&c. ; this arrangement renders Ijack oi' servants' staircases almost 
unnecessary. 

The bedrooms on the second story have each a closet (with 
another in the hall for linen), and fireplaces, with a studied arrange- 
ment for the furniture, a matter too often neglected in planning a 
house. Nothing is more common than to see sleeping apartments 
so constructed that no place is left for a bed without interfering 
with a door, window or fireplace, no place in the dining room for 
a sideboard, no place in the drawing room for a piano or sofa, no 
place in tlie library for bookcases, and no place in the dressing 
room for a toilet table. 

This also proves the danger of altering an architect's design 
without his consent, since there are always certain meanings and 



54 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 



intentions for every detail, however trifling, obvious to none but 
the originator. To change a door or window, therefore, is very 
apt to interfere with some internal or external feature of the 
design. If the architect is consulted, he can usually devise a way 
to carry out any alteration without interfering with the arrange- 
ments of the general plan. 

Estimate. — A building like this could be erected for about 

$2,500. 




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!l 







P» s 



) E S I N !i° 6 . 





DESIGN No. 6. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Veranda. 

2. Hall, 13 X 19. 

8. Drawiug Room, 15 x 19. 

4. Library, 15 x 19. 

5. Veranda. 

6. Dining Room, 15 x 22. 

7. Staircase. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 

7. Staircase. 

8. Hall. 

9. Linen Closet. 

10. Bedroom, 15 x 19. 

11. Do. 15 X 19. 

12. Do. 15 X 19. 

13. Do. 12 X 13. 



We recommend this design, not only for the agreeable and 
elegant effects of its exterior, but also for its economical and simple 
yet commodious arrangements within. The entrance porch, which 
is apparently distinct, acts as an enlargement of the veranda, of 
which it is a part. The hall serves as a large sitting room, and 
communicates with the drawing room by folding doors, while the 
stairs, which ascend through the tower, from basement to attic, are 
so secluded, as to obviate the necessity of a private staircase. 

It must be admitted that to enter at once into a large hall, 
treated somewhat like one of the living rooms of the house, and 
perhaps with a wood fire blazing cheerfully on one side in a wide 
open chimney, gives to the stranger the impression of generous 



56 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

hosjiitality and cordial greeting, as if the house itself at once had 
received him into its arms. This is frequent in England. 

The dining room has a bay window, and communicates. with 
the lilDrary by folding doors. The second story has a linen closet 
and four good bedrooms, and the attic has similar rooms. The 
windows throughout have deep embrasures and broad sills, which 
are 15 inches from the floor. With cushions, these form con- 
venient and pleasant seats, and assist in furnishing the room. 

The veranda, it will be observed, is rather limited, yet as a 
greater portion is on the east side of the house, it is in the shade 
the most of the day. It should always be remembered that Avhere 
there is but one veranda it should be placed on the shady side of 
the house. Great mistakes are often made in painting the veranda 
roof a light color, for the purpose of coolness. But actually tlie 
efiect is directly the reverse, the light tones reflecting the heat 
into the chamber windows. It is true that the roof is thus left 
cool, but it is no advantage, since if the rooms within are hot we 
care little how cool the veranda roof may be. The roof here, as 
over all parts of the house, is of dark slate, a material especially 
harmonious with brick or stone houses. When slate is used, how- 
ever, suflicient steepness should be obtained to shed the water, 
while flat roofs should be covered with metal. The main roof 
here has, on account of its steepness, no gutter at the cornice, as 
the water is nearly all collected from the flat on top, in gutters at 
the curb of the roof. The objection often holds good, against 
towers arranged like the one in our design, that the snow will 
lodge between it and the main roof, and cause leakage. But by 
reference to the plan it will be seen that, in order to give entrance 
to the attic, this space must be filled up by a passage, the roof of 
which, not shown in this perspective, prevents such a lodging 
place. Expedients of this kind should always be resorted to in 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 



57 



our climate, since picturesque vallies or internal angles of this kind 
are apt to leak. 

We would take advantage of this opportunity to advise the 
application of some distinctive name to every detached country 
house, however small, since it cannot be distinguished by a num- 
ber, as in town. The name should, of course, be suggestive of 
some fact connected with the house, its OAvner, or its location, and 
should be original, or at least not copied from any in the vicinity. 

We would oifer, as names not yet become common among us, 
the following taken from country seats in England, which may 
serve as suggestions : 



Arborfield, 

Ashhill, 

Ashfield, 

Ashiidge, 

Ashdale, 

Baj^field, 

Bayswater, 

Baytborne, 

Beach Cottage, 

Beach Hill, 

Beachside, 

Beech Hill, 

Beech Land, 

Beechwood, 

Beltwood, 

Berry Hill, 

Birchwood, 

Bloomfield, 

The Briars, 

Broadlauds, 

Broadlield, 



Brook Cottage, 

Brookvale, 

Brookfield, 

Brook Hill, 

Brookwood, 

Blithefield, 

Chestnut Cottage, 

Claremont, 

Cliff Hall, 

Cliff Cottage, 

Crow's Nest, 

Cedars, 

Clifton, 

Dale Park, 

Daisy Banlc, 

Doveridge, 

Eaglehurst, 

Edgehill, 

Elm Cottage, 

Elm Grove, 

Elmstead, 



10 



Elmwood, 
Fern Hill, 
Fern Cottage, 
Forest Hill, 
Glen ynia, 
Glenfield, 
Glen Cottage, 
Greenhill, 
Grove Cottage, 
Grove Park, 
Harewood, 
Haselwood, 
Hawthorne, 
Hawkswood, 
Hayfield, 
Highwood, 
Highlands, 
Holly Cottage, 
Holly Grove, 
Holly Hill, 
Homewood, 



Highmont, 
Ivy Cottage, 
Ivy Hill, 
Laiu-el Cottage, 
Lawn Cottage, 
Longwood, 
Mayfield, 
Myrtle Cottage, 
Melrose, 
Moss Side, 
Moss Cottage, 
Oak Bank, 
Oak Hall, 
Oak Cottage, 
Oak Hill, 
Oakfield, 
Oakwood, 
Oaklands, 
Oatlands, 
Oldbrook, 
Oldfield, 



58 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 



Oriel Cottage, 

Haven Hill, 

Eavensdale, 

Kidge Cottage, 

Kidgwood, . 

Eingwood, 

Eosedale, 

Roselaud, 

Koseberry, 

Eushbrook, 

Eockingham, 



Sedgebrook, 

Sedgefield, 

Shelbrook, 

Shoreliam, 

Shrubhill, 

Spring Cottage, 

Spring Grove, 

Spring Hill, 

Springwood, 

Strawberry, 

Slimmer Hill, 



Siimmerfield, 
Sunning Hill, 
Thorne Hill, 
Thorne Grove, 
Undercliif, 
Vine Cottage, 
"Walnut Springs, 
Walnut Grove, 
Waterside, 
Wedgewood, 
Westbrook, 



Westfleld, 

Westwood, 

Willow Cottage, 

Winfield, 

Woodbines, 

Woodcote, 

Woodfield, 

Woodhill, 

Woodford, 

Woodlands, 

Woodside, 



Estimate. — This design, if built of stone, would cost about 
1,500. 




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^^ ' -Paulocfiulie del. 




DESIGN N9 7. 




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iiliiiinli \ [ I 



DESIGN No. 7 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Entrance Porch, 9 x 10. 

2. Vestibule. 

3. Coat Closet. 

4. Main Hall. 

5. Library, 15 x 18. 

6. Drawing Room, 15 x 20. 

7. Veranda. 

8. Do. 

9. Kitchen, 15 x 17. 

10. Sink Room, 10 x 10. 

11. Butler's Pantry, 7 x 10. 

12. Dining Room, 15 x 18. 



SECOND STORY PLAN. 

13. Hall. 

14. Chamber, 13 x 18. 

15. Do. 15 X 20. 

16. Bath Room, 8x8. 

17. Chamber, 15 x 17. 

18. Do. 15 X 18. 

19. Linen Closet. 

20. Tower Staircase. 



There seem to be two classes of people wlio delight in an 
occasional retirement to tlie wildest, most picturesque, and un- 
frequented spots ; who find it necessary, at certain intervals, to ap- 
proach nature, when she abandons herself to her most fantastic and 
savage moods ; to hear her great heart beating in the midst of her 
grandest solitudes, and to partake of the rude fare of the abounding 
wilderness. The man of letters and high culture yields to this im- 
pulse with the strong desire of recuperating his intellect at the 
very fountains of knowledge, of freeing himself from the dust of 



(50 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

books, and of catcliing new emotions and intelligible ideas from 
the secret spirit whispers of the " forest primeval." The man of 
the world, on the other hand, seeks the same scenery, weary of his 
routine of dissipation, to obtain a new zest for his life amidst the 
bounteous freshness of nature, in the fish of her wandering moun- 
tain brooks and lovely lakes, and in the wild game of the endless 
woodland. Mount Desert, Moosehead Lake, the Adirondacks, and 
the Saguenay have all in turn been the savage Meccas of pale pil- 
grims who have followed the adventurous trail of the Indian, the 
hunter, the backwoodsman, and the artist, and sought with them 
refreshment, consolation, health, and the pleasures of delightful 
novelty. 

In all these places — in the wildest and most picturesque of 
them — we find these pilgrims, not content with a brief, homeless 
tarrying there, building their huts and hunting lodges, and shoot- 
ing boxes, for more convenient and easier sojourn in the summer. 
The philosophers of Cambridge and the sportsmen of Gotham have 
not only, like Cowper, longed 

" for a lodge in some vast wilderness, 
Some boundless contiguity of shade," 

but have made a prophecy of their desires and set up their rude 
household gods in the bosom of the Adirondacks, and by the forest 
borders of Lake George. Sunnysides and Idlewilds and Clover- 
nooks are arising in abundance far from the trodden paths of 
travel ; peaceful vine-clad fortresses for protection against the raids 
of enemieSj and of all the world's follies, gaities, and dissipations — 
strongholds of homely, hearty hospitality, where the prodigal son 
may go back to the bosom of nature and find her affections un- 
changed, and her kind indulgence the same as in the pleasant asso- 
ciations of his childhood. 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 61 

To meet requirements of this kind, we have prepared the ac- 
companying design, adapted equally well for a hermitage or shoot- 
ing lodge. The style adopted is that usually termed the " half 
timber ; " in which the framing is allowed to appear externally and 
form the prominent decorative characteristic of the structure, 
while between the timbers there is a filling in of brick nogging or 
rough cast. The effect of this method of construction is highly 
pleasing, the wall surface being constantly relieved by this ex- 
pression of wood construction, which, is not merely suggestive of 
strength, but actually increases the firmness of the building. • Ex- 
amples of this style are constantly found in England and on the 
Continent ; it is universal ; many of them date back to quite a re- 
mote antiquity. Their stability is only exceeded by their pictu- 
resqueness and venerable beauty. The traveller will remember 
with what quaint freaks of form and color they hang over the nar- 
row streets of Chester and Rouen. 

The chimneys in this design are carried up to an unusual 
height, which, with the tower and the gables rising one above the 
other, strongly partakes of the character of the wooded mountain 
scenery around, while the broad spread and irregular contour of 
tlie roofs are in sympathy with the undulating sweep of valleys and 
prairie lands. 

As we approach this house, the first feature that attracts our 
attention is the porch leading to the front door. This is quite 
spacious, admitting the gathering of family groups under its shelter, 
thus taking the place of a formal veranda, and with the strength 
of its crossing and supporting timbers bearing its harmonious part 
in the general sentiment of the design. We enter the vestibule, 
which is separated from the main hall by an arch. This hall be- 
gins at the tower and runs to the rear of the house. The main 
stairs, commencing at the vestibule and ascending through the 



62 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

tower, afford a landiug on each story up to the observatory. The 
diniug room, which is on the left, has a china closet, and commu- 
nicates with the kitchen through a large butler's pantry, which 
also serves as a store room. The kitchen is provided with a 
spacious sink room. 

The second story contains four bedrooms, a bath room and 
linen closet. 

In arranging the rooms on the principal story, we have had 
constant considei-ation of the fact that they were intended not for 
any such formal hospitalities as balls or fetes^ but rather for that 
internal domestic comfort, that dolcefar niente and abandon which 
the occupant came into the wilderness to find. Here the broad- 
cloth coat or silk dress becomes a myth, and the bachelor's cigar 
knows no housekeeper's tyrannical limitations. 

Estimate. — This design, if built plainly, would cost about 

$3,000. 



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DESIGN No. 8. 

The accompanying cottage, whicli is the residence of Jolin E. 
Kearney, Esq., at Rye, N. Y., was originally as shown in the vi- 
gnette at the left, hut was enlarged and altered to its present ap- 
pearance from plans submitted by the author. The great defects 
of the old house were a want of relief from monotony and absence 
of shadows. In order to obtain these results in the altered design, 
the roofs were extended, and the projecting gable thrown up at 
the long unbroken side, while the little one-story addition served 
to create an irregularity upon the ground. The ornament upon 
the eaves was removed and placed upon the ridge, the chimney 
altered in design, and the gables surmounted by finials. 

The site it occupies is quite picturesque, and rocks and wild- 
wood form the principal features of the scenery. In order to 
create a harmonious design, rustic work was introduced for the 
verandas, balconies, and supports of gables. 

The vignette at the right represents a stable belonging to John 
Rowland, Esq., at Belle Point, Darien, Conn., which was altered 
from an ordinary farm barn to its present appearance. 

The stable itself is in the basement ; the first floor is occupied 
by carriage house, tool house, grain and store rooms, with an apart- 
ment for a servant, and above these is the hay loft. 

The feed is received in the basement through " shoots " which 



g4 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

are convenient to the liorses. This stable is pro\'ided with two 
loose boxes and four stalls. These are paved with brick, the rest 
of the floor being of stone. There are two ventilators connecting 
with the lantern on the roof . 

With regard to harness rooms, we would suggest that they be 
made larger than they usiially are, and with some means of 
heating them to prevent the cracking of the harness by cold. 
Here, too, is a smoking room for gentleinen in the morning, 
and which may also serve as a pleasant resort for male servants 
in the evening. 



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DESIGN N9 9. 





DESIGN No. 9. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Veranda. 

2. Hall. 

3. Drawing Room, 17 x 20. 

4. Library, 12 x 13. 

5. Veranda. 

6. Staircase. 

7. Dining Kooni, 16 x 17. 

8. Parlor, 16 x 20. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 

9. HaU. 

10. Chamber, 12 x 14. 

11. Do. 15 X 16. 

12. Do. 8 X 11. 

13. Do. 15 X 16. 

14. Do. 13 X 16. 

15. Attic Stairs. 



Tins design, whicli is alluded to iu Chapter II., was executed 
at Rye, N. Y., for Dr. J. H. T. Cockey. It is chariningly located, 
overlooking the windings of a pleasant stream through a beautiful 
bit of country. The grounds comprise about twenty acres, and in 
the centre is a natural mound, on which the house was built. 

On excavating for the cellar, it was found that a few feet from 

the surface was a solid ledge of rock. Here was an obstacle not 

easily overcome, the only resort being a tedious process of blasting. 

The rock, however, proved of such excellent quality for building, 

as to obviate the necessity of quarrying elsewhere, and the sand 

and water being close at hand, no transportation of material was 

requisite. The rock foundation, also, it will be readily perceived, 
11 



66 HOLLY'S COUNTliY SEATS. 

was for from objectionable, addlug mucli to the stability of the 
walls. Hence the house is known as Rock Cottage. 

In building square houses, the chimneys are usually four in 
number, and jilaced at the sides ; in this design, however, the 
reader Avill notice that there are but two, and these built inside 
the house, in the place generally occupied by folding doors. The 
expense is, of course, thus decreased, and by the situation of these 
chimneys much of the heat is retained which would otherwise be 
wasted upon outside walls. Instead of the two rooms on one side, 
communicating with each other by folding doors, according to the 
usual ai'rangement, here, apartments on opposite sides of the hall 
are placed en suite by double doors, thus including the hall itself. 
These doors and the oi:)posite bay windows have arches over their 
openings, so that standing in the bays we may see a succession of 
four of these in vista, affording thus an imposing feature to the 
rooms. 

The dining room is slightly enlarged by being extended 
somewhat into the hall, while the library is made smaller to 
give space for removing the stairs from the passage, thus obviat- 
ing the necessity of a private staircase. The second story has 
five good chambers, and there are also three bedrooms in the 
attic. 

We have already had occasion to remark that regularity or 
formal balance of parts in strictly rural architecture is not gener- 
ally desirable. But in scenery of rather a mildly beautiful than 
wild or pictui-esque character, the more symmeti'ical designs are 
often admissible and sometimes singularly appropriate, the formal 
and stately seats, so common among the residences of the English 
gentry, most abound along the broad and easy slopes of the coun- 
try side, by placid lakes and quiet streams, among gently undula- 
ting grassy lawns and parks, adorned with dgtached clumps of 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. Q'J 

elms or oaks. Thougli we would scarcely wish to see repeated to 
any extent the quaint formalities of an old-fashioned Elizabethan 
garden, with its thick yew-tree hedges clipped into arcades and all 
sorts of strange fantasies of form, with its straight alleys and long 
artificial vistas, yet some sort of formality is often desirable in the 
midst of such park-like scenery as we have described, and we are 
justified in borrowing the terraces, fountains, and ballustrades of 
the Italian villa, and the nicely trimmed hedges, neat gravel walks . 
and strictly kept boundaries of the English country seat. With 
such surroundings a purely symmetrical design is often most 
appropriate, especially when the house is very spacious. An 
American village, too, with its rectangular lots on the street, seems 
to suggest sometimes a similar formality of treatment on a smaller 
scale. 

But let us change the location and imagine one more pictu- 
resque. Though the simple and inexpensive internal arrangement 
of the square cottage may be retained, we shall readily perceive 
that a strictly symmetrical external treatment would appear mis- 
placed. It is usually supposed that in order to render a design 
picturesque, the plan must of necessity be irregular. This is a 
very common error ; and in selecting a certain fixed plan, it is 
generally considered that the elevation attached to it must be ad- 
hered to under all circumstances. As an evidence that the adoption 
of such a plan does not necessarily involve a disregard of exterior 
agreeing with the surrounding scene, we would refer the reader to 
Design No. 15. This certainly has the appearance of an entirely 
different arrangement. But, on close examination, it will be found 
that not only the general disposition of rooms, but every door and 
window, with the single exception of an alteration of the bay, 
corresponds precisely in plan with the present design ; whereas 
the exterior only is altered to suit a more picturesque style of 



gg HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

country, by simply breaking tlie lines of the roof, and by certain 
contrivances of detail, giving the -whole an entirely different aspect, 
and adapting it thoroughly to its new condition of site. 

Estimate. — ^This design was built by contract for $4,500. 



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DESIGN N? 10. 





DESIGN No. 10, 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Veranda. 

2. Vestibule, 9 x 10. 

3. Coat Closet. 

4. Hall, 9 X 16. 

5. Drawing Room, 19 x 19. 

6. Library, 15 x 19. 

7. Green Ilouse. 

8. Sewing Room, 9 x 13. 

9. Servants' Staircase. 

10. Dining Room, 19 x 20. 

11. China Closet. 

12. Kitchen, 15 x 16. 

13. Woodshed, 12 x 16. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 

14. HaU, 8 X 10. 

15. Chamber, 9x9. 

16. Do. 15 X 17. 

17. Do, 15 X 17. 

18. Do. 9 X 13. 

19. Hall. 

20. Bath Room, 13 x 19. 

21. Linen Closet, 6x6. 

22. Bedroom, 10 x 10. 

23. Do. 10 X 10. 



Such picturesqueness and diversity of feature, as characterize 
the treatment of this little villa, are well adapted for association 
with the wild, romantic scenery of many parts of our country, es- 
pecially on those aT)ru])t and rugged slopes so common along the 
banks of the Hudson. 

This structure, which was designed as a residence for J. D. 
Bedford, Esq., is situated on one of these slopes, at Nyack. 

Its style is strictly Tudor, the same so frequent in those choice 
localities among the lakes and mountain districts of England. 



70 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

The variety of its skylines, obtained by a careful composition of 
clustered chimneys, gabled roofs and pointed fiuials, is in harmony 
with the rugged character of the scenery around it; while its 
broad veranda, bay window, and greenhouse serve to assist its 
irregularity of outline on the gi'ound, and to relieve the monotony 
of formal and unsympathizing walls. The little gable at the right 
breaks up and relieves the long extent of cornice on that facade, 
and the chimney produces the same effect upon the lidge. The 
pyramidal form of the group is eftected by the towering of the 
observatory in its central position, and the whole produces in the 
general picture some resemblance to the peculiar features of the 
landscape itself. The design is chiefly commendable for its conven- 
ience and its proper conformity with its immediate surroundings. 

Another composition of equal merit, yet wholly different in 
architectural character, may be found in Design No. 29. Here 
may be seen an example of the horizontal tendency of those classic 
structures whose representations awaken so many pleasing memo- 
ries in the mind of one who has traversed the sunny plains of 
Italy ; but agreeable as they may be in a level region, a due at- 
tention to fitness admonishes us that an edifice designed after their 
manner, would be quite inappropriate in the more rugged portions 
of our country. And why is this ? We reply that an article of 
apparel, which is highly becoming to one person, proves frequently 
quite the reverse to another, and thus, in order to be tastefully 
attired, one must take into consideration form, complexion, and 
features, and then select garments of a corresponding color and 
shape. This, though a homely comparison, is precisely analogous 
to the immediate question ; a l^uilding, therefore, to be an object 
of art, should conform in shape, color, and feature with the country 
around. Thus the level, unbroken lines of the Italian villa, so 
decidedly in harmony with the smooth, placid character of its 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 71 

native land, would be as greatly out of place amid the wild, im- 
posing grandeur of the Catskills, as would the rude beauty of the 
Gothic on the fair plains of Italy. 

The interior of this building is more unique than extensive. 
The entrance, which is in the tower, opens into a spacious vestibule, 
provided with a coat closet, and is separated from the main hall by 
an arch, where folding doors may be placed in winter. The hall 
is also of good size, the staircase being in an alcove at the side, 
under which a sofa may be properly placed. The first apartment 
at the right is the drawing room, which has a bay window, and 
connects with the library by doors on either side of the fireplace : 
sliding doors might be introduced and the rooms thrown together 
at pleasure. The libi-ary has sufBcient space for books, and is con- 
nected with a small greenhouse on the south side, which may be 
heated in winter by simply opening the glass doors by which it 
communicates with the library. It is protected from external cold 
by double glazed sashes : the floor and ceiling being deafened and 
the panels backed with brick. At the end of the hall is a small 
room, which may serve as a sewing or smoking room, or private 
office. The dining room and kitchen occupy the wing, which has 
its ceiling lower than the main part of the house ; an arrangement 
peculiar, perhaps, but according with the taste of the owner. The 
upper portion of this wing is occupied by two bedrooms, a linen 
closet, and bath room, while there are four good chambers in the 
main house. 

The main hall is lighted from above, and the observatory stairs, 
commencing at the second floor, ascend to the third and fourth 
stories of the tower, from whence is obtained a fine view in all 
directions. 

Estimate. — "VVe beheve the estimates on this design were 

$3,500. - 



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DESIGN N » II. 





DESIGN No. 11 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Entrance Porch. 

2. Hall, 9 X 24. 

3. Library, 16 x 23. 

4. Dining Room, 16 x 20. 

5. Butler's Pantry. 

6. Kitchen, 17 x 19. 

7. Veranda. 

8. Do. 

9. Servants' Staircase. 
10. Main Staircase. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 

11. Hall. 

12. Bedroom, 16 x 23. 

13. Linen Closet. 

14. Bedroom, 13 x 15. 

15. Do. 16 X 20. 

16. Bath Room. 

17. Bedroom, 13 x 19. 



Notwithstanding the general prosperity of our country and 
the rapidity and ease of acquiring wealth, yet in the midst of the 
fluctuations of commercial life, there is a constant liability to 
serious loss, if not entire reverses of fortune. It is sad to think 
that our own firesides, though for removed from the immediate 
bustle and keen anxieties of the exchange, are ever sensitive to the 
mismanagements or misfortunes of a single venture on the danger- 
ous ocean of trade. By these, many families are driven from their 
luxurious mansions in the town to less pretending homes in the 
country. These families, thus prostrated by the changes of a day, 

reared in the midst of the refinements of luxurious ease, and sur- 
12 



74 HOLLY'S COUNTRY PEATS. 

rounded by the golden opportunities of wealth, have, perhaps, 
under these impulses, so shaped their minds and manners as to 
have become ornaments in the circles where they were known. 
Such people are, of all others, equal to an emergency of this kind. 
They often find that adversity is not without its sweet uses. 
Knowing that they must, if they remain in the town, assume an 
inferior position, and one beneath their merits, they will turn to 
the country as aftbrding a congenial home. Here, with true taste 
and sound judgment, they will build a cottage, which, though 
small in dimensions, will be complete in all its parts. . In such a 
home, with the qualifications in themselves for making it happy, 
they will find, probably, a calm content unknown in the giddy 
turmoil of fashion, and a consolation full of gentleness and peace. 
Other associations, dear as those of old, will cluster around them, 
and they will find, as in the touching description of " the wife " in 
Irving's Sketch Book, that they have no desire to return to the 
noise and bustle, the whirl and excitement of a life in town. 

Everything about such a house must be truly refined and 
chaste, with every convenience that comfort demands, and without 
any superfluities. The interior must be suggestive of the refine- 
ment of the occupants, not necessarily ornamental or showy, Init in 
every respect tasteful and elegant. It is with such views that we 
have prepared the accompanying design. 

The entrance porch is in character with the rest of the house, 
strong and substantial, and is embowered with ivy, which climbs 
up its columns and crowns its arches. The main stairs are at the 
end of the hall, which is thus left wide and unobstructed, and 
ready for all those uses of household pleasure which such a feature 
is sure to possess. The library has a bay window, and the dining 
room communicates with the kitchen by a butler's jjautry. The 
kitchen has a private stairway and large closets. In the second 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 75 

story are four bedrooms, bath room, and linen closet, and in the 
attic, rooms for servants. 

It is not uncommon to find iu country houses one or more 
rooms from which the family are excluded save on rare occasions, 
and which are kept only for the entertainment of guests. 

We have here supposed a residence for a family of refinement; 
and whatever is equal to its wants should certainly sufHce for those of 
its guests. It will, then, be borne in mind that genuine hospitality 
does not consist in the provision, for guests, of luxuries denied our- 
selves. We have, therefore, omitted from this design everything 
superfluous. The drawing room proper is the first apartment we 
discard, it being one which always occupies a larger amount of space 
than is balanced by its actual usefulness in the household. 

The ordinary objection to using a dining room for the pur- 
poses of family gatherings, is that it must necessarily be occupied 
by the servants after meals, for removing the service and " tidying 
up" generally. Much of this, however, may be obviated by the ' 
provision of a butler's pantry, and thus the dining room and hall 
may be used as sitting rooms, while the library remains for literary 
purposes. 

The great want of small houses at moderate rents, and iu re- 
spectable quarters of our cities, obliges many of limited means to 
seek homes in the country. If the custom of living on flats or 
floors were introduced in our country, this rural desire would be 
subdued, as in France ; but while the old English maxim remains 
true of us, " every man's house is his castle," flats must be associated 
only with the lowest class of tenement houses. With the Anglo- 
Saxon, home and the family fireside are sacred, and in no small 
degree it is to this influence we owe our love of truth and virtue. 
Domestic qualities are almost unknown in France, and as a natural 
consequence the virtues we so much admire are held in low esteem. 



76 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

It is not too much to say tliat every man owes it to himself, no 
less than his family, to provide a home ; a spot aronud which he 
may gather his dear ones for counsel and instruction. Such a 
home is incomplete without one apartment, too often little re- 
garded, which is a library. We would enlarge on this suTyect, 
which we deem so important, hut consider it advisal)le rather to 
quote the language of a distinguished writer of the day, with 
which we close this chapter. 

" We form judgments of men from little things about their 
house, of which the owner, perhaps, never thinks. In eai'lier 
years, when travelling in the West, where taverns were either 
scarce or, in some places, unknown, and every settler's house was a 
house of ' Entertainment,' it was a matter of some importance and 
some experience to select wisely where you would put up. And 
we always looked for flowers. If there were no trees for shade, 
no patch of flowers in the yard, we were suspicious of the place. 
But, no matter how rude the cabin, or rough the surroundings, if 
we saw that the window held a little trough for flowers, and that 
some vines twined about sti'ings let down from the eaves, we were 
confident that there was some taste and carefulness in the log 
cal)in. In a new country, where people have to tug for a li^^ng, 
no one will take the trouble to rear flowei-s, unless the love of 
them is pretty strong ; and this taste blossoming out of plain and 
uncultivated people is, itself, like a clump of harebells growing 
out of the seams of a rock. We were seldom misled. A patch 
of flowers came to signify kind people, clean beds, and good bread. 

'' But, other signs are more significant in other states of society. 
Flowers about a rich man's house may signify only that he has a 
good gardener, or that he has refined neighbors and does what he 
sees them do. 

" But men are not accustomed to buy hooh^ unless they want 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 77 

them. If, on visiting the dwelling of a man of slender means, I 
find the reason why he has cheap carpets, and very plain furniture, 
to be that he may purchase books, he rises at once in my esteem. 
Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so 
beautifully furnishes a house. The plainest row of books that 
cloth or paper ever covered is more significant of refinement than 
the most elaborately carved etagere, or sideboard. 

" Give me a house furnished with books rather than furniture ! 
Both, if you can, but books at any rate ! To spend several days 
in a friend's house, and hunger for something to read, while you 
are treading on costly carpets, and sitting Upon luxurious chairs, 
and sleeping upon down, is as if one were bribing your body for 
the sake of cheating your mind. 

" Is it not pitiable to see a man growing rich, and beginning to 
augment the comforts of home, and lavishing money on ostenta- 
tious upholstery, upon the table, upon everything but what the 
soul needs ? 

" We know of many and many a rich man's house where it 
would not be safe to ask for the commonest English classics. A 
few garish annuals on the table, a few pictorial monstrosities, to- 
gether with the stock religious books of his "persuasion," and 
that is all ! No range of poets, no essayists, no selection of histo- 
rians, no travels or biographies, no select fictions, or curious legend- 
ary lore ; but, then, the walls have papei" on which cost three 
dollars a roll, and the floors have carpets that cost four dollars a 
yard ! Books are the windows through which the soul looks out. 
A house without books is like a room without windows. No man 
has a right to bring up his children without surrounding them 
with books, if he has the means to buy them. It is a wi'ong to his 
family. He cheats them ! Children learn to read by being in the 
presence of books. The love of knowledge comes with reading 



78 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

and grows upon it. And the love of knowledge, in a young mind, 
is almost a warrant against the inferior excitement of passions and 
vices. 

" Let ns pity these poor rich men who live loarrenly in great, 
bookless houses ! Let us congratulate the poor that, in our day, 
books are so cheap that a man may every year add a hundred 
volumes to his library for the price of what his tobacco and his 
beer would cost him. Among the earliest ambitions to be excited 
in clerks, workmen, journeymen, and, indeed, among all that are 
struggling up in life from nothing to something, is that of owning, 
and constantly adding to, a library of good books. A little library 
growing larger every year is an honorable part of a young man's 
history. It is a man's duty to have books. A library is not a 
luxury, but one of the necessaries of life." 

Estimate. — This design was estimated to cost in stone, $4,000. 




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DESIGN N; 12. 





DESIGN No. 12. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Verauda. 

2. Hall, 20 X 22. 

3. Library, 17 x 20. 

4. Dining Room, 17 x 25. 

5. Butler's Pautry. 

6. Kitclien, 16 x 20. 

7. Closet. 

8. Passage. 

9. Back Stairs. 

PROPOSED ADDITIONS. 
«. Drawing Room, 17 x 25. (Z. Veninda. 

6. Passage. e. Cbamber, 17 x 25. 

e. Boudoir, 13 x 14. /. Do. 13 x 17. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN, 

9. Back stairs. 

10. Main Stairs. 

11. HaU. 

12. Closet. 
18. Bath Room. 

14. Chamber, 17 x 20. 

15. Do. 17 x 25. 
10. Do. 15 X 20. 



HAviNa shown in the preceding chapter how a small cottage 
or country seat, complete in itself, may contain as many elements 
of artistic beauty, and in every resjiect be quite as respectable as 
a more extensive mansion, we would now endeavor to explain how 
such a cottage may be built with reference to capacities for future 
enlargement and more ambitious proportions. 

Though people sometimes make the apparent mistake of build- 
ing too large for their j^resent uses, much more frequently they 
commit the greater error of building without reference to any pos- 



80 HOLLY'S COUNTKY SEATS. 

sible or probable increase of means and necessities. In time it 
often becomes essential to enlarge household accommodations, and 
then occur all those difficulties of alteration so often alluded to in 
this work, unless the dwelling was originally designed with refer- 
ence to such probable alterations. Now, in order to prove that 
architecture can accommodate itself gracefully and easily to such 
changing conditions of life, provided the necessity for such accom- 
modation is understood at the outset, we propose to arrange a 
plan which shall be such as to necessitate the immediate execution 
of only a part, but that part complete in itself, both inside and out. 

By referring to the plan, it will be observed that, though ex- 
tensive, only the dark portion is included in our perspective view, 
which comprises a house about equal, in capacity and accommo- 
dation, to the preceding design. The entrance hall, which is large 
enough to serve as a sitting room for the cottage, becomes a fitting 
appliance for the more stately extent of the future mansion.* 

Now this is a complete cottage in itself, without the present 
necessity of any additions or alterations. But should the owner, 
at any future time, desire to enlarge, he can readily add the light 
portion of the plan, without interfering with the present structure. 
For a view of its external appearance, when enlarged, we refer the 
■reader to Design No. 20, where it will be observed the additions 
blend and harmonize with the group, so that our simple country 
seat has grown naturally into nobler state, and assumed the air and 
dignity of a mansion. All of which shows the advantages of care- 
ful bringing up in young cottages. 

There is no more frequent remark made by those who have 
built country houses, that " It has cost me much more than I in- 
tended expending." This tends to dissuade people from building, 
and they take refuge 'in the proverb: "Fools build" houses and 

* For further description of the interior, see Design No. 20. 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 81 

wise men live in them." Why is it that so many shrewd business 
men are deceived in buikling ? Why is it that a man having esti- 
mated an expenditure of $7,000, finds his completed residence to 
have cost $10,000, or even more ? A satisfactory answer to this 
question may seem an arduous task, but we are confident it can 
be exj)lained so as to be comprehended by all. When a man has 
an intention of building, he begins to " count the cost," and de- 
cides how much he will expend: he then sketches his idea of the 
general arrangement and the amount of accommodation necessary 
for his family, and he settles himself down to the belief that these 
ideas must be carried out at his original suppositions regarding the 
expense. In his calculation he relies, perhaps, on the "judgment" 
of a friend who has built, or on rude comparison with a neighbor's 
house, but undertakes to make no detailed estimate of the ne- 
cessary number of feet of lumbei-, of the squares of roofing, yards 
of plastering, or the number of doors, windows, stairs, mantles, 
grates, or closets, none of the amount of stone and brick work, 
none of the painting, carting, grading, draining ; he has thought 
nothing of the number of days' labor that will be necessary, of the 
price per day, of the outbuildings, wells, and cisterns, or of the task 
of preparing the grounds on which to build : of the actual expense 
of all these he has not the least idea, and the only wonder is that 
in his " rough guess " he has not been even more mistaken. With 
these mature ideas he goes to his builder as to an expert, to see 
what all will really cost, when, to his astonishment, he discovers 
that even a builder cannot supply him with the desired figures 
until complete plans and specifications have been prepared and 
thorough estimates made on them. He, perhaps, then leaves the 
builder in disgust, and has final recourse to the architect, who he 
finds unwilling to commit himself to any statement of amounts 

until drawings and estimates are made in a proper manner. The 
13 



82 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

necessary papers are consequently ordered, and, wlien returned, he 
is surprised that the estimates exceed very considerably his pro- 
posed expenditure. When time and labor have thus been thrown 
away, he appeals, at last, to his architect to suit the plan to the 
price ; and then he has a melancholy vision of the slow departure, 
under those unsparing hands, of many a little household comfort 
or luxury which he had permitted himself to cherish in his imagi- 
nation, when laboring under his melancholy delusion of costs. 

An intelligent understanding established in the outset between 
his means and his desires would have spared him much disappoint- 
ment. 

There is a simple rule which sometimes enables one to approxi- 
mate the cost of the house he intends to build. It is to find a 
house of the general character and finish of that proposed ; to 
calculate the number of cubic feet it contains from the basement 
floor to the top of the roof; to divide the cost of the building by 
the number of feet it contains, which, of course, gives the cost per 
foot. Reduce your proposed house to cubic feet, and multiply by 
the same price per foot. This will give you about the cost of your 
house, unless you should decide on a greater expense in finish. 
This rule, however, is a very uncertain one ; it should be applied 
cautiously, and not too much confidence placed in its revelations. 

Estimate. — This design would cost, in stone, about $5,500, and 
the additions about $3,500. 




Paul Gctitjize del. 



DEbfON N-: 13. 




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DESIGN No. 13. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 


SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 


1. Veranda. 


17. Rotunda, 10 x 10. 


2. Vestibule. 


18. Chamber, 15 x 18. 


3. Rotund.a, 10 x 10. 


19. Do. 15 X 16. 


4. Parlor, 1-5 x 18. 


20. Do. 8 X 10. 


5. Dr.awing Room, 15 x 20. 


21. Do. 15 X 16. 


6. Veranda. 


22. Do. 15 X 18. 


7. Closet. 


23. Linen Closet. 


8. Veranda.. 


24. Bath Room. 


9. Laundry, 12 x 16. 


25. Chamber, 12 x 16. 


10. Milk Room, 10 x 12. 




11. Kitchen, 16 x 20. 




12. Veranda. 




13. Back nail. 




14. Dining Room, 15 x 18. 




15. Library, 15 x 18. 




16. Staircase. 





This design represents another square building, containing all 
the advantages claimed for that form, yet so peculiarly arranged 
as to give, Loth within and without, a marked novelty and indi- 
viduality of expression. Tlie veranda-roof, over the front door- 
steps, projects so as to break the great length of cornice, and might 
be made to combine utility with ornament, by allowing the steps 



84 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

to recede, which would afford ample shelter in alighting from 
carriages. 

The tesselated vestibule is well lighted by stained glass sashes 
on either side the dooi'. This vestibule contains two spacious 
closets for hats, coats, umbrellas, &c. The side opposite the en- 
trance is spanned by an arch separating the outer from an inner 
vestibule, adorned with niches for statues on both sides. From 
this an ornamental ground-glass door gives access to a rotunda of 
large dimensions, occupying the centre of the house, and extending 
to the roof, where a stained glass skylight admits a pleasant, 
modulated light, more grateful in such an apartment than the 
white li2:ht of noon. 

In this octagonal hall there are six doors symmetrically ar- 
ranged, each of which opens into a separate room. Turning to the 
left, we enter by one of these doors a bay, occupying the centre 
of one side of a small parlor. Within this bay the door is balanced 
by a small statuary niche. The parlor opens into a large drawing 
room, through an arch supported by columns, affording a cheerful 
vista, closed by a fireplace which is studied so as to form one com- 
position with two small flanking windows. 

The form of the drawing room is octagonal, one side of which 
is occupied by a large bay window. In the four corners of this 
room are shown small niches for statues. 

This room, like the small parlor, communicates directly with 
the rotunda, and by the two doors on the opposite side of the ro- 
tunda we may enter the library and diniug room ; the former of 
which has a similar arrangement in plan to the parlor, except that 
the chimney occupies the place of the arch. The dining room 
nearly corresponds in shape and disposition to the drawing room 
opposite, with the same exception in regard to the fireplace, and 
with the omission of the bay window. This room communicates 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 85 

with the kitchen through a rear entry, which also serves the pur- 
pose of a butler's pantry, and prevents the smells from the kitchen 
pervading the rest of the house. Another pantry will be ob- 
served, connected with the kitchen and coiTesponding with this 
entry. On the opposite side, the kitchen has a store or milk room, 
and a spacious laundry. In this arrangement there is no provision 
for back or private stairs ; but the principal staircase is so shut off 
from the main body of the house, and communicates so directly 
with the apartments of the family and of the domestics, as to be 
equally accessible to both, without trespass on either hand. 

Ascending the stairs, before we arrive at the top, we reach a 
landing affording access to a linen closet, bath and bedroom, the 
latter of which is provided with a commodious and well-lighted 
dressing room. Continuing the ascent, we come to the main por- 
tion of the second floor, and again enter the rotunda by a gallery 
(accidentally omitted in the drawing), which passes around it, 
communicating by doors with the five surrounding bedrooms. 
These bedrooms are amply supplied with closets and fireplaces, 
and are well lighted. This main stairway ascends to the attic, and 
is provided with a skylight. By the peculiar construction of the 
roof, good apartments are secured in the attic, for which light is 
obtained from gable and dormer windows. The facilities for ven- 
tilation in this design are worthy of remark, as through the well 
of the staircase, and especially through the rotunda, a constant cir- 
culation of air is produced throughout all the rooms. The main 
portion of the house may be heated from a register placed in the 
centre of the rotunda floor, under which stands the furnace. 

From the number of niches shown throughout the house, we 
are induced to give a short extract from Wightwick's "Palace of 
Architecture," which may serve to show what appropriate parts 



86 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

statuaiy and other works of art may be made to play iu the duties 
of hospitality and entertainment. 

" The portico receives you with a readiness symbolized in the 
statues of Invitation and Greeting, which occupy the niches on 
each side of the door. 

" In the two arched recesses, on either side the entrance-lobby, 
are figures typifying Welcome and Hospitality ; while the vestibule 
is dignified by the presence of others, representing the Seasons, to 
indicate that we keep open house the whole year, and shall, at all 
times, be happy to see you. 

" On the landing of the .staircase are the statues of Fidelity and 
Protection, to intimate that you may confide iu our truth aud 
sleep in safety. 

" The breakfast room is hung with a series of drawings by our 
eminent water-color artist, bright, fresh, and crisp, as the morning 
of Youth. 

" From above the book cases, around our library, look down 
the intelligent countenances of the literary great, — either beaming 
with poetic thought, or grave with philosophic reflection, — and in- 
dicating the character of the works respectively ranged beneati 
them. The sculptured group at the end of the room represents a 
boy rising from his completed studies, unconsciously to cvjierience 
those pure emotions of the heart, which form the Episode betwixt 
youth and manhood. 

" In one of the chambers of the tower is the only antique 
treasure we possess, a sequel to the group last mentioned, — that 
statue, unimprovable, which ' enchants the world,' — the Ve7ius de 
Medicis. 

" The commingled pursuits of the drawing room are represented 
by the poetry of History, the harmony of Landscape, the elo- 
quence of gentle Portrait, and the charming varieties of Art repre- 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 87 

senting Art, as in the architectural pictures of Claude and Cana- 
letti. The picture over the fireplace illustrates the beauty of Noon 
and the matured graces of Manhood. 

'' Upon the walls of the dining room glow the symbols of Fes- 
tivity, and the rich tints of the fruit-piece, with its crystal vessels, 
and the citron wreathing its golden coil around the goblet's silver 
stem. The principal picture represents Age, in its decline, enjoy- 
ing, with cheerful gratitude, the bread of its early industry. 

" Connected with the dining room is the Conservatory, redolent 
with softest fragrance, and radiant with perfect beauty — an 
asylum for the gentler of Nature's oflspring — yielding a corrective 
to the Sensual, who would deem purity insipid, and gently re- 
proving the Sanctimonious, who would regard external splendor as 
unholy. From indulging in the charms of nature's loveliness^ you 
will next turn to the adoration of nature's God in our Chapel, 
where, over the altar, is seen the ' Man of Sorrows,' the Ecce 
Homo of Guercino ! -The marble group of Praise^ Thanksghnng^ 
and Prayer^ and the statue of St. Paul, are evidences of the skill 
and exalted feeling of the modern British Sculptor : and we shall 
here anticipate your surprise, at finding in our mansion only one 
specimen of the Antique, and so few works by the ' old masters.' 
Pardon us, then, for refusing to employ our private suite of apart- 
ments as a Museum of Miscellaneous Art. It has been our aim to 
make Painting and Sculpture cooperate with Architecture in the 
completion of a perfect whole, expressive of that character and of 
those affections which we desire to cultivate ; and as involving an 
uncompromising esteem for fitness, with an especial sympathy for 
contempon^ary good and beauty." 

Estimate. — This design could be built for about $6,000. 



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DESION.N? It-, 





DESIGN No. 14. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN, 

1. Veranda. 

2. Hall. 

3. Library, 15 x 15. 

4. Balcony or Terrace. 

5. Servants' Staircase. 

6. Butler's Pantry. 

7. Veranda. 

8. Dining Room, 17 x 19. 

9. Veranda. 

10. Closet. 

11. Veranda. 

12. Drawing Eoom, 16 x 22. 

13. Balcony. 

14. Veranda. 

15. Parlor, 14 x 15. 

16. Balcony. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN, 

17. Hall. 

18. Chaml)er, 7 x 10. 

19. Do. 15 X 15. 

20. Servants' Staircase. 

21. Cliamber, 17 x 19. 

22. Do. 16 X 18. 
28. Dressing Eoom. 

24. Passage. 

25. Cliamber, 14 x 15. 



Occasionally we find sites where the views in every direction 
are so pleasing that we desire to make them play their part in our 
household enjoyments, and be a continual blessing in our most fre- 
quented apartments. We would lose no feature of the landscape, 
and consequently must occupy our entire first floor with the family 
and reception rooms, while the kitchen and its offices must ne- 
cessarily be placed below. The four sides of our house, then. 



90 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS 

must be taken up witli parlor, diuiug room, drawing room, and 
library ; and, in oi'der that we may enjoy the views more openly 
and extensively, an amjile disposition of veranda, balcony, and ob- 
servatory seems especially appropriate. 

At first sight it would appear that these considerations would 
be satisfied by the ordinary and vulgar ari-angement of a square 
house, with a hall through the middle, a veranda all around, and 
an observatory on top. This is the pure and simple expression of 
what is called sound judgment in the matter, and as such it is en- 
titled to respect. "We only regret that this I'espect is accorded to 
such an extent that our country is filled with houses after this 
pattern, only varying in some minor point of detail, according to 
the whim of the builder. "VVe projiose, however, to prove that 
good taste., while according with sound judgment, meets the exi- 
gencies we have described more fully than this conventional pat- 
tern does, and obtains liesides a work of beauty and grace. In 
short, we have here an emphatic repetition of the old and honor- 
able architectural truth, that beauty and utility are never neces- 
sarily in discord one with the other. Let the reader judge for 
himself how far this is accomplished in the accompanying design. 

It will be readily seen from the elevation, instead of proposing 
a square habitable box, we have indulged in some irregularity of 
outline and picturesqueness of feature, in our design. The practi- 
cal advantage arising from this irregularity is, that each room com- 
mands a prospect in three distinct directions, without the aid of 
bays ; all the windows open to the floor and give access to an outer 
platform, which, instead of being treated as a veranda, surrounding 
the house in the usual way, thereby darkening the rooms and dis- 
turbing the grand outlines, so that the house itself becomes second- 
ary to its adjuncts, is managed as part balcony or terrace, protected 
by a bracketed canopy, and part veranda or porch, with the ens- 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 91 

ternary posts. This arrangement gives pleasing variety to the 
design, admits much more hght into the principal apartments, and 
allows the outlines of the house to be prominently visible, from 
foundation to roof, at the corners. 

The interior of this house is simple and convenient. The 
drawing room, which is of good size, connects with a less ambitious 
parlor by sliding doors. Directly opposite the drawing room is 
the library. This is in the most retired part of the house, adjoin- 
ing no other room, and being central yet quiet. The dining room 
has an entrance from the main hall for family use, and also com- 
municates with the 2:)rivate entry, where are the back stairs, which 
lead from basement to attic for the servants' accommodation. 
The form of this room is octagonal, one end being occupied by a 
three-sided bay, and the other made to correspond by cutting off 
the angles, thus producing a private passage, a pantry, and a china 



It may be asked where are the places for furniture, and more 
especially for a sideboard in this apartment I The window at the 
end opposite the entrance door is elevated above the rest, giving 
room for a sideboard to be placed under it, and is of an oval form 
composed of one sheet of plate glass like a mirror. The upper 
part of this sideboard should be made to form a frame for this 
window, so that the window will appear to be a part of the side- 
board, and that a part of the room. 

The peculiar arrangement of a window over the chimney-piece 
in the small parlor will be observed. This, though novel in our 
country, is quite common in Europe, and is often introduced with 
a happy effect. The mantlepiece, as usual, surmounts the fire- 
place, and the window frame above is gilt or otherwise treated 
like the frame of a looking glass, and is filled with a single sheet 
of plate glass. Such a contrivance produces an agreeable surprise. 



92 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

and enables persons sitting at the lieartli to command a view of 
the scenery without, as if painted in a landscape by more than 
human art. But even this is attended by some objections unless 
guarded by another contrivance of equal ingenuity. It is objec- 
tionable when the sun is in such a quarter as to shine through it 
upon a person reading at the fire. This difficulty may be ob- 
viated by furnishing the window with a sliding shutter, which will 
answer the double purpose of security against burglars and a pro- 
tection from an excess of light. Let the inside of this shutter be 
occupied by a landscape : then when closed it will have precisely 
the appearance of a finely framed pictni-e hung over the mantle- 
jiiece. A mirror is sometimes used to play the same part. The 
flues of the chimney of course pass on either side the window, and 
operate quite as effectually as under the usual circumstances. 

But let us turn from these pleasing fancies to the more practi- 
cal suliject of halls and bedrooms. The entrance hall, which is of 
good width, has placed in it, for the sake of economy, the main 
stairway, but it may be separated from the hall, if deemed desir- 
able, by glass doors, thus obtaining a large, square, unoccupied 
vestibule. The chambers above are large and commodious ; one 
having a dressing room, with two closets, where might be placed 
a bath room. Each of the other bedrooms is well supplied with 
closets, and the places for furniture are carefully studied. 

A tower might be run up, with advantage, over the back 
stairs, but, anxious to show the reader how an observatory may be 
placed in the middle of the roof with good effect, the design has 
been arranged as shown. 

Estimate. — This design, in wood, may be built for |6,000. 




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DESIGN No. 15. 

This design, which has au interior arrangement similar to that 
of No. 9, in the candor and simplicity with which it expresses the 
plan on which it is built, in the picturesque breaking of its sky- 
lines, with gables, hij^js, crests, and chimneys, its fair acknowledg- 
ment of all constructive obligations, and in its freedom from the 
cockney frippery of pretence, may serve as a fair illustration of the 
progress which American rural architecture has made since its 
days of Puritan plainness. But few specimens are now left of the 
real Puritan architecture of " the good old Colony times " in New 
England, or of the old stone revolutionary Dutch farm houses on 
the Hudson, or of the plantation houses of Mainland and Viigiuia, 
built by the first settlers with imported bricks. There is an old- 
world expression about these venerable buildings which recom- 
mend them to our interest as historical reminiscences. And it 
must be confessed that there is a truth and solidity about their 
construction which we look for in vain in the architecture of a later 
day. Undoubtedly they fairly express the solid energy, determi- 
nation, and great-heartedness of the founders of a new empire in 
the wilderness. The straightforward respectability and honorable 
pride of the old Governors, are strongly imprinted upon their man- 
sions. These are reproductions of. the contemporary architecture 
of the mother country, England or Holland, so far as the limited 



94: HOLLY'S COUNTRY HEATS. 

resources of a new country could reproduce it. The prosperity of 
the next generation, however, was too great and too rapid to Y>i'e- 
serve inviolate this marked self-respect and simplicity in architec- 
ture, and soon pretentious display, Avithout the refinement of edu- 
cation, became the aim, finally settling into an era of domesticated 
Greek temples and immense classic porticos in wood. The true 
refinement of the colonial ai-istocracy, the hearty hospitality of the 
gentleman of the old school, seem to have been overwhelmed by 
the jiretentious show and glitter of a society whose " new-crowned 
stamp of honor was scarce current," and which naturally in archi- 
tecture developed a fever for base imitation, which it is one of the 
special objects of this work to reprehend and criticise. Apropos 
to this, our readers will, perhaps, remember that iu Coleridge's 
narrative of the "Devil's Walk" it is related how 

" IIo saw a cottage with a double coach-house, 
A cottage of gentility ; 
And the devil did grin, for his darling sin 
Is pride tliat ajics humility." 

The possession of wealth by the ignorant does not generally 
bring with it an immediate, refining influence. The plain, honest 
man, who by integrity and entei'prise has won for himself and 
family a resjDectable name and an ample fortune, has, in the pursuit 
of these ends, also acquired certain habits of thought and life more 
honest and practical, than refined and elegant. He leans rather 
toward the useful than the beautifid, as is natural with those who 
have had a hard struggle with the world. In the latter part of 
the last century and early part of the present, when our country 
was yet young, were the worldiuj days of our people, and, so far as 
I'egards art, therefoi'e, it was truly au, iron age. The associations 
of wealth, with less occupation .of actual labor and more attention 
to the amenities of life, necessarily lead to advanced ideas of edu- 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 95 

cation and personal accomplishments, and thus the children are by 
one degree near to the refinement of the highest civilization. But 
early education and the force of early habits cannot be quite for- 
gotten. Blood cannot be purified so soon. Yet a desire for 
knowledge, an ambition for improvement, has sprung up, and this 
stage of our part vre may (to continue our figure) call the silver 
age. And so in the third age, the golden, we may expect to dis- 
cover a higher tone, a more polished state of society ; a culture 
observable, not only in manners and habits, but in the surroundings 
of life, in its elegancies no less than comforts, and in the nearer 
and more efifectual union of the useful with the beautiful, the per- 
fection of whicli is the acme of true refinement. 

We may fairly suppose that our people are entering this new 
degree of civilization, and that their minds are beginning to cher- 
ish a national taste, made up of all the good points of the ruder 
eras of their history, combining the practical common sense and 
utility of the first with the amljition of the second, and the whole 
softened by the refinement of the third. Therefore, it is fitting for 
us to ascertain whether we are taking our proper position, nation- 
ally, in the world as lovers of art ; whether we are assuming the 
insignia of progi-ess ; whether, for instance, government is found- 
ing national galleries of statuary and painting, collecting objects of 
art from the old world, and encoui-aging our own artists at home. 

All this is not so foreign to our subject as may at first be 
thought. No one art can be entirel}^ separated from the others, 
as the same aesthetic principles run through all. He who has culti- 
vated a love for one branch of art, must have some sympathy for, 
and appreciation of, every other. No man can be a true lover of 
painting or sculpture, and not find pleasure in beholding the 
triumph of the sister art of architecture. Taking this as an index 
of popular artistic culture, we think we have I'eason to congratulate 



96 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

our readers on the happy prospects before us, as certainly of late 
years there has been evinced an increasing interest in architecture, 
both publicly and privately. During the last ten years our advance 
has ])een rapid and certain, and full of promise. Our public build- 
ings at the National Caj)ital compare favorably with similar build- 
ings in other countries : our State Capitols, many of them, are well 
worthy of the important position they occupy ; and generally our 
religious, municipal, and, indeed, all our public buildings, show 
that a great degree of interest in this subject has been aroused. 
And this interest bears its inevitable fruits. 

With reference to rural architecture, the question may be asked, 
Why, especially in the vicinity of Boston, rural tastes seem more 
highly developed than in the suburbs of New York, or why in 
England are the people so universally chaste and elegant in this 
particular ? Is it not on account of the examples furnished in 
beautifying certain available portions of public grounds, in making 
parks and commons ? Does not this lead people to love rural cul- 
ture and elegance, and induce them to enrich the appearance of 
their own homes in the surrounding country ? 

It has been observed, in reference to the Central Park of New 
York, that, when finished, wealthy persons will b'e content to live 
in town, finding there the pleasures which they have been in the 
habit of seeking in the country. We think, on the contrary, the 
effect will be to educate a rural taste, and to create a passion where 
it never before existed, for an out-of-town life. We believe that, 
from such impulses, in a few years the suburbs of New York will 
vie with those of any other city in the world. 

The vignettes represent a rustic summer house and gateway, 
the former of whicli was built in New Jersey by A. Gerster. 

Estimate. — This design, on account of its irregularity, would 
cost a trifle more than Design No. 9. 



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DESIGN I\?i6. 





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DESIGN No. 16, 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Porch. 

2. Veranda. 

3. Hall. 

4. Sitting Eoom, 16 x 19. 
6. BalQony. 

6. Dining Boom, 16 x 25. 

7. Butler's Pantry. 

8. Kitchen, 16 x 16. 

9. Veranda. 

10. Wash Room. 

11. Store Room. 

12. Milk Room. 
IS. Passage. 

14. Veranda. 

15. Library, 12 x 15. 

16. Drawing Room, 17 x 25. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN 

17. Hall. 

18. Chamber, 12 x"l5. 

19. Do. 16 X 17. 

20. Do. 9x9 

21. Do. 16 X 19. 

22. Do. 16 X 20. 

23. Dressing Room. 

24. Bath Eoom. 

25. Servants' Bedroom, 8 x 11. 

26. Do. 8 X 18. 

27. nail. 

28. Linen Closet. 



The accompanying villa, belonging to O. Benedict, Esq., is of 
an irregular Italian character, and was built in Bethel, one of those 
beautiful little towns in the interior of Connecticut, where manu- 
facturing has become the chief interest of the inhabitants, and 
where industry and enterprise have received their proverbial re- 
ward. 

15 



98 



UOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS, 



At present there are but few trees ou the pLace, and, therefore, 
verandas and canopies are resorted to for shade. The house is' 
built of wood, the 2:)rincipal timbers being of pine, while the sills 
are made of chestnut. The frame is filled in with brick, and 
sheathed on the outside with rough hemlock boards, before the 
clapboards are put on. Generally one of these precautions is con- 
sidered sufficient protection against the weather, but in exposed 
situations, where the wind has much power, the bricks serve to 
make the fi-ame more solid, while the sheathing binds the building 
together, and eftectually protects the house from inclemency of the 
weather. In using rough, external boarding, it is always well to 
have it placed diagonally, as it thus serves the purpose of bridging 
and strengthening the frame. 

The interior of this house is arranged on a liberal scale. The 
main hall, wliich is spacious, contains the stairs, which are placed 
at the end to afford more room. The dining room has a niche for 
the sideboard, and communicates with the kitchen through a but- 
ler's pantry. This kitchen is provided with store, milk, and wash 
rooms. The ceilings of these are lower than those of the main 
house, making the rooms above, which are for servants, on a level 
■with the landing of the main stairs. The rest of the chambers, 
provided on the second floor, are furnished with closets and places 
for furniture. Good bedrooms are constructed in the attic. Hot 
and cold water are carried throughout the house, which is heated 
by a furnace. 

The owner has made provision for gas in all the rooms, this 
being supplied from private works upon his place ; such works are 
now readily constructed at very moderate cost, and occupy but 
little I'oom, while their arrangement is so simple and effective as to 
require but an hour's labor, of an ordinary woi'kman, to obtain a 
fortnight's supply. 



HOLLY'S CODXTRY SEATS. 99 

We would not ordinarily recommend the use of gas in a 
country Louse, unless a supply may be had from some public 
works ; as too much machinery in a house of this kind, being- 
liable to get out of order and need repairs, frequently causes 
great annoyance, in consequence of difficulties arising from 
the absence of mechanics. For the same reason we would not 
recommend the use of steam furnaces, extensive plumbing and 
similar works, unless it can be ascertained that the means for re- 
pairing are at hand. Gas, too, is not so indispensable an article as 
many of our countrymen might suppose. In the large cities of 
Europe it is excluded, in a great measure, from private houses, and 
in the palaces and dwellings of the nobility it is never introduced 
except for inferior purposes. During the visit of the Piince of 
Wales to this country it was the express stipulation of the Queen 
that no gas should be used in any of his apartments. At fashion- 
able parties in our cities it is often superseded by wax candles. 

The reasons for this prejudice are vax'ious. It is said, in the 
first place, to have an injurious effect upon the hair, eyes, and com- 
plexion ; secondly, it is deemed plebeian in Paris, as there it is more 
or less associated with cafes and places of public amusement. A 
final and more potential reason is, that its intensity has not a favor- 
able effect upon the delicate colors and shades of ladies' dresses, 
and we would say, confidentially, of course, that the injurious 
effect produced on the expression of their eyes, by the contraction 
of the pupil, may be avoided, without resort to belladonna, by 
shunning gaslight, and using some gentler means of obtaining 
artificial illuminations. 

Estimate. — The estimates on this building were |7,000. 







DESIGN M V 17, 




■ ^ " 


1 




IS 




n 1 '- 




J 



iliiliirill 1 1 1 



DESIGN No. 17. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Terrace. 

2. Hall, 13 X 15. 

3. Dining Room, 14 x 17. 

4. Staircase Hall. 

5. Terrace. 

6. Library, 15 x 15. 

Y. Drawing Room, 15 x 20. 

8. Cabinet, 8x9; 

9. Balcony. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 

10. Hall. 

11. Chamber, 15 x 15. 

12. Do. 15 X 20. 

13. Do. 9 X 11. 

14. Linen Closet. 

15. Batli Room. 

16. Balcony. 



There are several marked features about this design, which, 
we think, should recommend it to the attention of our readers. 
It possesses, in the first place, the advantage of a decidedly pictur- 
esque and irregular outline, without the usual complicated and 
expensive roofs which are generally considered essential to obtain 
the same result, and which, if not properly constructed, are liable 
to need frequent repairs, and to form lodging places for snow and 
ice — a very material objection, cousidei'iug the length and severity 
of our northern winters. It is not meant by this that irregular 
roofs are necessarily subject to such inconveniences, but simply 
that roofs of this description have not generally sufficient attention 
given them in design to avoid these dangers. Irregular roofs are 
often taken from foreign examples, which are not exposed to the 



102 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

same contingencies of weather, and so not unfrequently indulge in 
vallej'S and reentering angles, wliicli, reproduced in our climate, are 
fatal to the tightness of the roof. Yet, if properly managed, irreg- 
ular roofs may act better to shed the heavy falls of snow, than 
many of the more flat examples, which are perfectly plain and 
regular. 

Another feature in this design is a saving of the expense of 
verandas by the adoption of balconies and terraces in their stead. 
These extend around the principal rooms both on the first and 
second stoi'ies, those in the latter position serving as a protection 
for the terraces below, and are themselves sheltered by the pro- 
jection of the main roof of the building. The expense of a finished 
underpinning is also avoided Ijy heaping the earth around the 
house, in the manner of a terrace, uj) to the first-story beams, 
leaving openings for window views, and keeping the cellar warm 
and dry. By this contrivance the house has what most buildiugs 
seem to lack, a base or firm footing upon the ground. It seems to 
afl:brd a closer connection between the earth and the building, 
giving the architecture more the appearance of growing out of 
nature and l^eing its offspring, than of being the handiwork of 
man, and placed by him formally upon its lap. 

This house may be used as a cottage orne. The entrance is ap- 
proached by steps, forming a part of the terrace. We enter at 
once the main hall, which, unobstructed by stairs, may be occujiied 
as a spacious sitting room. The dining room is entered on the 
right of this hall, through an arched alcove. The position of the 
windows, doors, and fireplace in this room, is carefully studied to 
give symmetry. Access is ol)tained directly from the dining 
room into the staircase hall, which may be approached with equal 
facility from the rear of the building and from the entrance hall. 
The stairwav thus treated has its several advantages : from its 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. JO3 

privacy it obviates the necessity of a servants' staircase, and is in 
direct communication with the basement, kitchen, dining room, 
outside entrance, second story, and attic. The library is a large 
room with broad, unbroken walls on either side for books, a fire- 
place in front and one large window in the rear, thus preventing 
cross light and giving the occupant, when seated before the fire, 
the light upon his book rather than in his eyes. The drawing 
room, which is on the left, has a small cabinet attached. The 
chamber-floor is divided into commodious rooms provided with 
closets, a bath room, and linen closet. 

But this design, with some slight alterations, would more appro- 
priately serve the purpose of a douUe lodge^ accompanying a man- 
sion, the first floor being occupied by the farmer, or, perhaps, the 
lodge keeper, and the second by the gardener, who would approach 
his apartments by the balcony staircase. Should the gardener re- 
side elsewhere on the place, this second story might be fitted up as 
a billiard room, the floor being well deafened to prevent disturbing 
the family below. 

These internal arrangements are susceptible of easy alteration 
to suit such fancies, and any clever architect can readily adapt the 
building to serve any of these purposes. 

Estimate. — This house, if plainly built, would cost about 
$3,500. 




Pa;.! Schulze.dol. 



D E S I C N N9 





^^:?'^cr->^'^'^' •- 



-•S«***if* 



DESIGN No. 18. 

It is usual witt persons about purchasing a country residence, 

to desire to find a place where " impi'ovements," as they are called, 

have already been made, where the outbuildings have been 

erected, and the trees have attained a considerable size. The 

house may not be exactly equal to their requirements, and it is 

vainly imagined that by adding a wing here and a bay window 

there, with some alteration of dooi's, the patching of a few leaks, 

and the aid of new paint and paper, it may be made to answer all 

the purposes required. The alterations are hardly begun before 

the owner finds that, instead of a few patches in the roof, it is so 

far gone as to demand an entirely new one. In remodelling the 

rooms, the old work does not at all correspond with the new, and 

some of it is so far decayed as to be actually unworthy the house. 

The style of the house, too, is out of keeping, and so many and 

constant are the suffSfested alterations, that an entire renovation is 

needed. After repeated attempts to make the old work match 

the new, the building is, with protracted diificulties, completed, 

though in a most unsatisfactory manner. The house, even as 

renovated, contains so many disadvantages that we are reminded 

of the proverbial impropriety of putting new wine in old bottles ; 

and when it is too late, the owner begins the old story of wishing 

he had followed the advice of his architect and abandoned at the 
16 



IQQ HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

outset the idea of altering, since, witli tlie same expense, lie might 
have had an entirely new house, and one completely satisfactory. 
In the grounds, too, perhaps, from which he had anticipated so 
much pleasure, he often finds himself disappointed, as, after some 
'experience, he discovers that they in no part accord Avith modern 
taste in landscape gardening. Tlie land has been cleared of its 
natural growth of oak and chestnut, which so nobly adorned it, to 
make i-oom for formal rows of fruit trees. 

The vignette at the left will serve as an example of the abor- 
tions we so often find disfiguring the most beautiful sites through- 
out our land. It was built as a public boarding house, and is 
situated on one of those charming points, so much admired, on the 
north side of Long Island Sound, just east of the village of Stam- 
ford, Conn., and notwithstanding its unattractive appearance, its 
delightful location made it a favorite summer resort for families 
from town. 

It has recently been purchased by John Rowland, Esq., of 
New York. It was a matter of some doubt, in the mind of this 
gentleman, what disposition to make of the building, as it was too 
large for a farm house and inferior as a dwelling. It was finally 
determined to attempt to convert it into a respectable country 
seat, and the accompanying design was prepared for that purpose, 
with what success the reader must decide for himself. 

The ceilings were much too low. This diiSculty we were en- 
abled to overcome, on the first story, by proposing to raise the 
house bodily .above the foundations, leaving the floor in its present 
position and filling up below. The attic beams were raised to give 
greater height to the second story. The rooms were too small, 
and the main stairs obstructed the hall, but by altering some par- 
titions the rooms were readily enlarged, and the stairs were re- 
moved to an alcove in the hall. The design, on completion, was 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 107 

submitted to the owuer, who, though he confessed himself satisfied 
Jit the result, rather than alter at so great an expense, wisely con- 
cluded to convert the structure into a farm house, with few alter- 
ations, and to build a new residence on a choice site, which should, 
iu every particular, accord with his own ideas and wants. 

The vignette at the right represents a summer house and ice 
house combined. It was designed for Mr. Howland, in accordance 
with the following suggestions of Mr. B. S. Carpenter, in " The 
Rural New Yorker : " 

"The perfect success which I met in keeping ice last summei", I 
think, is owing largely to a new principle involved in the building ; 
therefore I speak of the plan for the consideration of those who are 
about to build for that purpose. Instead of one hollow wall for a 
non-conductor of heat, as in ordinary ice houses, I have two, with 
a space between them for confined air. The site is on a gravel 
slope. The foundation, for convenience iu storing ice, is dug two 
feet below the surface of the ground. The outside wall for non- 
conducting material is six inches iu the clear. The inside walls 
are four inches, with space for confined air of four inches. The 
doors for entrance correspond ' perfectly with the hollow walls in 
thickness, and are filled in the same manner — being shaped to shut 
with a bevel edge, like the doors to safes used by merchants and 
bankers. At the lower side of the plates is a ceiling, upon which 
I put spent tan one foot thick, which tan is in direct connection 
with the side walls, so that any settling in the walls may be sup- 
plied from overhead. From the under side of the ceiling runs a 
ventilatoi", with a hole of one and a half inch bore, up through the 
roof, and is finished with an ornamental cap. 

" The room for ice is eight by ten feet in the clear, and eight 
feet high. Without a more minute description, I think the build- 
ing will be understood. If not, inquire fuither; any who wish to 



108 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

do SO. About all the waste of ice that I observed during the 
summer was at the bottom ; and this was so slow that we used the 
ice without regard to economy, for a large famil)', aud in a dairy 
of thirty-five cows, besides giving freely to our neigh Ijors. 

" I put sticks four inches thick at the bottom to put ice on, and 
also some straw about the sides as well as underneath the ice." 








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DESIGN N? 19. 




DESIGN No. 19. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Vestibule. 

2. Main Hall. 

3. Librai-y, 15 x 24. 

4. Drawing Room, 24 x 27. 

5. Wash Closet. 

6. Butler's Pantry. 

7. Dining Room, 10 x 19. 

8. Study, 12 x 14. 

9. Staircase Hall. 

10. Veranda. 

11. Do. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN, 

12. lliiU. 

13. Chamber, 15 x 19. 

14. Do. 10 X 16. 

15. Alcove. 

16. Dressing Room. 

17. Chamber, 15 x 17. 

18. Passage. 

19. Lineu Closet. 

20. Bath Room. 

21. Cliambor, 16 x 19. 

22. Dressing Room. 

23. Chamber, 13 x 14. 



This suburban villa was designed for Mrs. T. D. Wheeler, and 
executed in Prospect street, New Haven. It is pleasantly situated 
opposite the beautiful grounds belonging to the Hillhouse family. 
The exterior bears an English character, bordering somewhat upon 
the Tudor, but slightly Americamzed by the addition of verandas. 
Perhaps the English Tudor or late Gothic cottage is more readily 
adapted to our houses here in America than almost any other, as 
it had its growth in very nearly the same domestic exigencies which 
hold good with us, and its great pliability of style renders it appli- 



IIQ HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

cable to dwellings of almost auy extent or peculiarity of plan. 
The readiness with which its steep roofs shed the frequent rains 
and snows of our climate is another cogent reason for its more gen- 
eral adoption. 

This house is built of brick, with hollow walls, stuccoed on the 
outside, and colored a neutral tint. This mode is somewhat con- 
fined to this locality, where it is practised with considerable suc- 
cess. The roof is covered with slate, from the Vermont quarries, 
with the exception of a small flat or deck on top, which is covered 
with tin, and used for the purpose of collecting water for the tank 
in the attic. By reference to the first floor plan, the reader Avill 
perceive that the accommodations are of a liberal character. The 
main hall is entered through a spacious vestibule ; this is paved 
w'lih encaustic tile, and well lighted by a window at the side. 
Folding doors of plate glass give entrance into the hall. This hall 
is nine feet wide by thirty-eight feet in length, and entirely unob- 
structed, the stairs being placed at the side. Halls of this kind 
are usually objectionable, from presenting a long and naked ap- 
pearance, and being dark in the centre. These objections are, 
however, here, in a great measure, remedied ; the monotonous ex- 
tent of the hall being broken by two arches, as indicated by dotted 
' lines, and additional light being obtained fi-om the stairway at the 
side. There is another exit from this hall without going to the 
extreme end, which is at the left, under the main stairs, where sufii- 
cient headway is obtained to admit a good-sized door. This, then, 
renders that portion of the main hall beyond the staircase super- 
fluous, if great economy of room is desirable, and it might be in- 
cluded in the study, making this room equal in size to the lil^rary. 
The present arrangement is, however, considered far preferable for 
considerations of free ventilation, for a promenade in bad weather, 
and for the generous effects of ample space obtained on entering the 
house. 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. Ill 

r 

The tAVO principal rooms, viz., drawing room and library, are 
large, and provided with spacious bay windows. The doors en- 
tering these rooms are opposite each other, and might be made 
double, thus, as occasion required, throwing the suite into one 
grand apartment, including the hall. ' The dining room is of good 
size, and is connected with a large butler's pantry, which is pro- 
vided with a sink, dresser, and dumb waiter, communicating with 
a similar pantry below, opening into the kitchen. A very con- 
venient addition to a dwelling of this kind is a gentleman's wash 
closet on the first floor ; such an one is provided here, connecting 
with i,he main hall, and also serving as a passage to the butler's 
pantry. The grand feature of this house, next to the hall, is, un- 
doubtedly, the stairway, which occupies a la,rge space at the left, 
and is Avell lighted by a stained glass window. Too often, in 
allowing the stairs to ascend through the hall, both features are 
spoiled, the hall being cut up and its continuity destroyed, and the 
stairs themselves made tiresome by their long, straight, unbroken 
rise to the floor above, no landing intervening as a happy resting 
place in the ascent. 

The study is, perhaps, the most agreeable and attractive feature 
of tlie house. Its chimney, it will be observed, is placed diagon- 
ally in one corner of the room, while the other three are filled with 
corresponding diagonal book cases. The mantel is of riclily carved 
black Avalnut, and the book cases, wainscoting, ceiling, and doors 
of the room are also elaborately designed and executed in hard 
wood, the whole oiled and polished. The brick flue from the fire- 
place recedes above the opening, giving space for a cabinet over 
the mantel, which well balances the Ijook cases. These all extend 
to the ceiling, and their heavy oaken cornices and bases skirt the 
entii-e room. The furniture of the room is appropi'iately of carved 
oak. The owner has recently enclosed with glass a portion of the 



112 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

soiitli veranda, opposite the study windows, for a greenhouse on a 
moderate scale. 

The chambers are all commodiously arranged ; two of them 
communicating with the bath room, and having separate dressing 
rooms. All the rooms have closets, while linen and cedar closets 
are separately pijovided. 

The plumbing is economically arranged, as, the tank, bath 
room, butler's pantry, and kitchen being directly over each other, 
long lines of horizontal piping are avoided. These are, however, 
unfortunately, on the north side of the house, where they might 
be affected by frosts ; Ijut this is guarded against by their being 
packed in sawdust and coming in contact with the kitchen chim- 
ney. The drains are purposely made small, as by this means the 
liquids run through with greater rapidity, and act effectually to 
keep the drain pipes free from obstructions. 

Estimate. — The estimates on this house were $13,000. 













"^iffi" 









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vrt^* ;i , 










DESIGN tip. 20. 




DESIGN No. 20. 

This design, which is au enlargement of No. 12, and whose 
plan is shown on that plate, we shall now attempt to describe in 
detail. 

The entrance hall, as before stated, is large, and well worthy 
the extent of the mansion. Its floor is composed of narrow, hard 
wood boards, with a boixler of a diflferent color, and a mosaic centi-e 
around the register. The walls are wainscoted with black walnut, 
and the doors and trimmings are of the same. The staircase, 
which is the principal feature, is also composed wholly of this ma- 
terial, and occupies the entire rear of the hall; it ascends, as we 
noticed, in two flights from the right and left to the landing, and 
continues thence in a sin^fle flio^ht to the floor above. The ceilina: 
of this staircase is supported by carved wood ribs, which continue 
across the hall and intersect with the mouldings of the front door ; 
these ribs are repeated elsewhere across the ceiling, forming panels, 
which are ceiled with narrow oak boards, unless, for economy, 
plaster should be preferred, in which case a delicate sky-blue tint 
might be used with good efifect. The library, which is finished in 
the same appropriately grave but rich manner, has walnut book 
cases extending to the ceiling, the cornices of which run around 
the room. This apartment communicates with the hall by folding 

doors, and, the drawing room opposite having a similar communi- 
17 



114 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

cation, the whole range of apartments may be thrown into one 
suite when occasion requires. The drawing room is of h^rge di- 
mensions, but, instead of being finished in natural wood, has its 
floor carpeted for the sake of the warmth, comfort, and color so 
essential in an apartment which is the social centre and abiding 
place of the household. Its ceiling and walls are painted with 
brilliant tones of vermilion, cobalt, and gold, on a ground of some 
delicate tint. The mantel is of Italian marble, while those in the 
library and dining room are of carved walnut and oak. The latter 
room, though receiving a similar finish to the hall, should be of 
oak instead of walnut. In all these rooms the fui-niture must of 
course correspond with their respective styles of architectui-al 
treatment, the furniture of the dining room being of carved oak, 
and that of the hall and library of walnut. These woods should in 
no case be varnished, but oiled and polished, while the hard wood 
floors should be waxed. Carpets for these floors would be entirely 
out of place, but mats and rugs may be used with elegant effect. 
In the drawing room, rosewood furniture, with the richest carpets 
and gilded mirrors, are highly appropi-iate. The hall has a side 
external entrance, at the entry B, which connects with the boudoir 
and drawing room. The boudoir has a fireplace located diagonally 
in one corner, the flue of which opens into the kitchen chimney. 
The other corners are similarly occupied by cabinets. This is the 
private room of the mistress of the house, and is in direct commu- 
nication with both the family and domestic portions of the 
establishment. By a slight alteration of the private stairway, a. 
door might be arranged connecting this room with the kitchen, 
through a closet. 

The kitchen, which is large, connects with the dining room 
through a butler's pantry, and is also conveniently placed with 
reference to the hall, which, when desired, is large enough to be 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 115 

used as a 'breakfast or tea room. The second story contains five 
chambers, a bath room, and linen closet, and in the attic are good 
bedrooms. 

The vignette at the left illustrates a bit of rock work Avith a 
rustic bridge over a brook, as executed at Central Park by A. 
Gerster, showing how picturesque the simplest natural feature may 
be made. That on the right represents a boat and bathing house, 
placed some distance from the shore, to secure deep water, and 
approached by a bridge. The whole is ornamentally designed, 
but sufficiently strong to withstand any storm. 




P I So uU« dsl 



DESIGN N9 21. 





20 40 



DESIGN No. 21. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 


SECOND FLOOR PLAN, 


1. VeranJa. 


18. 


Hall. 


2. Vestibule. 


19. 


Chamber, 15 x 16. 


3. Hall. 


20. 


Do. 15 X 16. 


4. Drawing Room, IS x. 23. 


21. 


Do. 9 X 15. 


5. Music Eoom, 15 x 15. 


22. 


Balcony. 


6. Library, 15 x 17. 


23. 


Chamber, 15 x 17. 


7. Veranda. 


24. 


Do. 15 X 19. 


8. Dining Room, 16 x 25. 


25. 


Balcony. 


9. Niche for Sideboard. 


26. 


Entry. 


10. Butler's Pantry. 


27. 


Linen Closet. 


11. China Closet. 


28. 


Bath Room. 


12. Private Stairs. 


29. 


Chamber, 10 x 15. 


13. Veranda. 


30, 


Do. 6 x 13. 


14. Kitchen, 15 x 21. 






15. Kitchen Porch. 






16. Scullery, 6 x 13. 






17. Milk Room, 8 x 12. 


\ 





This building was erected at Danbury, Conn., for A. E. Twee 
dy, Esq. The material of which it is constructed is unbaked brick, 
made of concrete, and is somewhat similar to, though much more 
durable than, that of the ordinary grav^el or rough-cast walls, 
which have so often been attempted, and nearly as often proved 
failui'es. 



118 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

In the interior of tlie country, where stone may not be readily 
obtained, and brick and lumber can be transported only at great 
expense, this material will be found of great advantage, as it can 
be manufactured on the spot, from the loose gravel that comes fi'om 
the excavation of the cellar, provided the gravel is sharp, and free 
fi'om loam or clay. The material is then mixed in the proper pro- 
portion with lime or cement, placed in moulds, and subjected to 
great pressure. The bricks thus formed are carefidly placed on 
boai'ds, ^vhere they remain until the mortar is set. They are then 
perfectly hard and ready for use. The size of these bricks is ten 
inches long, by five inches wide and four inches deep, with a hol- 
low space in the centre, which prevents dampness passing through. 
This latter object is also aided by the manner in which the walls 
are laid, the joints being " hivhenP as it is called. The hollow 
space in the outside brick just covering the solid portion of the 
brick behind, it is impossilile for dampness to penetrate. 

The manner in which these bricks are made renders them per- 
fectly smooth and square. They are of a neutral gray tint, which 
could not be improved as a color for the house. They require no 
paint, but only an occasional coat of boiled oil, for the purpose of 
better resisting the weather. 

It is particularly necessary, however, that persons building 
with this material should emjjloy the most experienced workmen 
for making it, since, if the proportions and method of manufacture 
are not exactly understood, this brick is apt to be weak and por- 
ous, and consequently to prove unsafe ; but if jDroper precautions 
are taken, actual experience has proved that it is among the cheap- 
est and best materials for building. Mr. Tweedy's house has the 
interior plaster laid directly upon the l)rick, so that the important 
items of lathing and furring are avoided in the bill of ex|)enses, 
and he assm^es the author that he has never discovered any damp- 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 119 

ness upon the inside walls. The woodwork of the house is nailed 
directly on the brick, so that tliere is no occasion for introducino- 
the usual wooden blocks, which are liable to shrink and decay, 
and thereby weaken the walls. The following letter from Mr. 
Tweedy may prove interesting, as it gives his opinion in this mat. 
ter, and somewhat of the history of his house : 



" Daitourt, May 3, 1859. 

" Henry Hudson Holly, Esq. : 

" Dear Sir : I have neglected till now writing you in answer to 
yours of 18th April, in relation to what is called the Foster brick, 
from which ray house is biiilt. I have the fullest confidence in 
them, if they are made of the right material, and properly manufac- 
tured. Ten parts of clean grit or coarse sand to one part of lime 
is the mixture used for the Ijlocks for the outside course of my 
house. About five per cent, of cement was added to the above 
mixture. My house is about 40 feet square, main body, two sto- 
ries and attic; walls 28 feet in height, 10 inches in thickness. The 
L or kitchen part, two stories, about 20 by 24 feet. I began 
building two years since, laid the walls 21 feet high, to attic floor 
timbers ; stopped the latter part of October ; covered the tops of 
the walls with boards, and left the building open and exposed 
during the Winter and Spring of 1857 and 1858, and found the 
Avails all sound and solid. In May last, carried up the walls, and 
completed the outside and partition walls during last Summer and 
Fall ; and now the building is as strong and solid as any brick can 
be. Although ray house may be considered an experiment here, 
for one of the size — three or four smaller ones havino: been built 
of the same material in the mean time — I should have the fullest 
confidence in putting up a building of any size, with the exjjerience 
now had in makino- the bricks. 



220 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

" My inside plastering is put on without furring and lathing, on 
the outside walls, and is perfectly diy and solid. It is my opinion, 
with suitable arrangements for making the blocks, the saving over 
ordinary clay burnt bricks will l>e 25 or 30 per cent, per cubic 
foot in the walls. Any information in regard to the material and 
building will be cheerfully given by 

" Yours, respectfully, 

(Signed.) " A. E. Tweedy." 

Estimate. — ^The estimates on this house were $12,500. 





-t^nt i !^li 




DESIGN N?22. 




DESIGN No. 22. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 




SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 


1. Carriage Porch. 




17. 


Main Staircase. . 


2. Veranda. 




18. 


Sewing Room, 6x6, 


3. Hall. 




19. 


Hall. 


4. Library, 13 x 13. 




20. 


Chamber, 13 x 19. 


5. Sitting Eoom, 10 x 


25. 


21. 


Passage. 


6. Veranda. 




22. 


Chamber, 14 x 19. 


1. Drawing Room, 15 


X 19. 


23. 


Passage. 


8. Dining Room, 15 x 


26. 


24. 


Chamber, 13 x 16. 


9. Butler's Pantry. 




25. 


Passage. 


10. Passage. 




26. 


Chamber, 16 x 20. 


11. Kitchen, 18 x 18. 




27. 


Alcove. 


12. Porch. 




28. 


Bath Room. 


13. Pantry. 




29. 


Water Closet. 


14. Do. 




30. 


Chamber, 8 x 13. 


15. Passage. 




31. 


Servants' Stairs. 


16. Main Staircase. 




32. 


Chamber, 8 x 13. 



This "building was designed and executed for William R. Fos- 
dicke, Esq., of Stamford, Conn., and stands on the summit of a rising 
ground north of the village, called Strawberry Hill, from which is 
olDtained one of the finest views of the Sound and the surrounding 
country that may he had in that vicinity. 

The principal object in the arrangement of this house was to 

18 



122 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

bring all tlie rooms into such a position that each might have the 
advantage of the view which is on the veranda side, toward the 
soutli. The disposition of apartments on the groimd floor, accord- 
ingly, is such that but one of them is without this advantage. 
This happens to be the dining room, which is seldom occuj)ied for 
any other than its legitimat* purpose ; therefore, exterior views 
are of comparatively small consideration. This room might have 
been made to exchange places with the kitchen, and thereby have 
received the same advantage ; but this would have bi-ought the lat- 
ter into too close proximity with the family apartments, and the 
dining room would not have been so pleasantly situated. The 
owner was also anxious to have it connect with the drawing room, 
by sliding doors. For these reasons the plan resolves itself into 
the present arrangement. These sliding doors, it will be remarked, 
are placed on the broad side of the room instead of at the end, 
which is the usual mode. By this plan the doors may be made 
much wider, and the two broad sides of each room being thus 
joined give more the appearance of a single large apartment. 

The symmetrical arrangement of these rooms adds very much 
to their beauty. Exactly opposite the fireplaces in each are win- 
dows ; the bay window in the dining room is crowned with a 
Gothic arch, corresponding to similar ones over the sideboard 
niche and slidino- doors. The windows and doorheads throughout 
this floor terminate in a similar manner, and the whole house, both 
outside and in, has a decidedly Gothic sentiment, partaking prin- 
cipally of the characteristics of the Tudor period. 

The gi'and external feature of this house is the veranda, Avhich 
extends across the entire southern portion. This, though running 
along the side of the kitchen, has no connection with it, as the 
servants are provided with a spacious porch at their entrance door. 
The laundry and milk room are placed in the basement, under the 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 123 

kitchen, wliicli communicates witli an area under the veranda, 
making them, in fact, rooms above ground. 

The furnace is placed in the centre of the cellar, and under the 
main hall. This cellar is provided with a coal slide and several 
bins, convenient to the furnace, for the different kinds of coal. 
The milk-room door is constructed with panels, which may be 
opened to obtain a draft from the opposite window — an essential 
requisite in a room of this kind. 

The cellar walls are built of twenty-inch stonework, the bot- 
tom being composed of large flags projecting six inches on either 
side, and laid in concrete. This footing course serves a double 
purpose : as a base for the stonework, preventing the building 
from settling, and also as a safeguard from rats. It is the nature 
of this animal, in getting into a house, to burrow down by the side 
of the foundation walls, but, when coming in contact with a stone 
or other impediment, to return and start anew rather than go 
around the obstacle. This six-inch projection acts, therefore, as a 
formidable barrier ao-ainst the entrance of vermin. The several 
floors, also, are deafened, thus not only preventing the communica- 
tion of sound, but leaves no space between ceiling and floor for 
rats to occupy. 

In a building of this kind, outside blinds are not only out of 
place, but impracticable, as the moulded lables or di'ips above the 
windows would prevent them from swinging around. Inside slid- 
ing or folding blinds must therefore be substituted. These are 
much more convenient, as they may be opened or closed without 
raising the windows, which in cold and stormy weather is objec' 
tiouable, and in a house with thick walls there is always sufiicient 
room in the window jambs for a box to receive these blinds. The 
windows opening on the veranda are peculiar, being a combina- 
tion of French and sliding sash. The difiiculty of these has gen- 



121 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

erally been that tliey cannot be made sutficiently tiglit to exclude 
tlie I'ain and cold of our nortliern winters, while the latter cannot 
be easily made to slide up high enough to give proper headway 
for passing in and out. These combine the two advantages of se- 
curity and providing ample headway, the first by sliding, the sec- 
ond by swinging, in the ordinary manner, when raised above the 
weather sill. Another advantage possessed by these over common 
swinging sashes, is that they may be ojDened, to admit air, without 
interferincf with curtains or inside blinds. 



o 



Estimate. — The estimates on this house were $10,000, 







DESIGN IN? 23. 





DESIGN No. 23. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN, 

1. Porch. 

2. Vestibule. 

3. Hull. 

4. Drawing Koom, 17 x 28. 
6. Cabinet, 9x9. 

6. Music Alcove, 10 x 1-i. 

7. Library, 17 x 17. 

8. Alcove, 10 X 17. 

9. Principal Staircase. 

10. Servants' Staircase. 

11. Kitchen, 1.5 x 22. 

12. Veranda. 

13. Butler's Pantry. 

14. Store Room. 

15. Veranda. 

16. Dining Room, 17 x 22. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN 

17. HaU. 

18. Chamber, 17 x 17. 

19. Dressing Room. 

20. Closet. 

21. Linen Closet. 

22. Bath Room. 

23. Chamber, 12 x 17. 

24. Alcove, 8 x 10. 
2.5. Closet. 

26. Chamber, 15 x 17. 

27. Dressing Room. 

28. Chamber, 17 x 22. 

29. Servants' Staircase. 

30. Chamber, 15 x 22. 



The iiTegularity and diversity of outline in this building are in- 
tended to accord witli a picturesque locality, or, by the variety of 
its sliylines, as seen above surrounding trees, to offer a pleasing in- 
dication from afar of domestic comfort and hospitality, and of an 
extensive household. The plan, with the exception of the projec- 
tion of the kitchen, approaches a square, thus obtaining economy 



126 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

in walls, altliougli the general effect of the stinicture affords the im- 
l^ression of an irregular plan. 

The entrance, which should always be the most prominent ex- 
ternal object, is here placed in the toAver itself, and rendered still 
more conspicuous by the large, hospitable porch, which seems to 
extend a welcome even before we enter. This porch furnishes a 
sort of footing for the tower, and the veranda and buttress serve as 
a base for the house itself, and overcome the abruptness of for- 
mal walls si^ringing dii'ectly from the ground. The interior of the 
building is aiTanged for comfort, combining utility Avith ornament- 
al design. The vestibule is large, and might have a closet for coats 
taken off the cabinet on the left. It is separated from the main 
hall by folding doors of plate glass. The first thing that attracts 
the eye, on entering this hall, is the beginning of the stairs, start- 
ing up into a sort of L, which conceals the most of the staircase 
fi'om view, exhibiting only the newel and a small part of the rail ; 
these, if properly treated, may be made highly ornamental, giving 
to the entire hall a marked character and expression. These stairs 
are somewhat cut off from the main hall by an arch, represented 
on the plan by dotted lines. Between this arch and vestibule are 
broad sliding doors opening into the drawing room on one side 
and the library on the other, thus obtaining a fine vista through 
the house. 

The drawing room has opening fi^om it a small cabinet, which 
is often a very pretty addition. It may be used as a private office 
or small reception room, and have a door opening into the vesti- 
bule. At the left of this is a large music alcove or bay, separated 
fi'om the drawing room simply by an arch. The library has a sim- 
ilar alcove, used for l)ooks, thus leaving the main portion unob- 
structed for a sitting room. By the introduction of curtains, this 
alcove might be converted into a, place for reading. The dining 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 127 

room is symTiietrical, and lias a niche for a sideboard opposite 
the fireplace. Its connection with the kitchen is through a spa- 
cious entry, also used as a butler's pantry, and containing a sink, 
dresser, &c. This entry also communicates with a back staii'case 
and store room, and has an external entrance for servants. The 
rear entrance for the family is at the end of the main hall, under 
the staircase, where sufficient headway is obtained for,a full-sized 
door. 

The second floor is provided with a bath and five spacious bed 
rooms, all with studied places for fui'iiiture and large closets. 
Two have dressing rooms, and a third is provided with an alcove 
similar to that in the drawing room, from which we may enter, on 
one side, the bath, on the other, a dressing I'oom. Both staircases 
extend to the attic, where are servants' rooms, spare chambers, and 
billiard room. Here, too, the observatory stairs begin. The front 
of this house commands but *a limited view, for which reason the 
best rooms and verandas are placed in other parts of the building. 

Estimate. — ^Tliis building, in stone, would cost about |1 2,000. 






i^-s 





<Tl'^ t^ 1 fir 

f 1 11 t:I I 










DESIGN NS 2 4 . 





DESIGN No. 24. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 


SECOND FLOOR PLAN, 


1. Carriage Porch. 


16. 


Hall. 


2. Vestibule. 


17. 


Closets, 


3. Hall. 


18. 


Chamber, 16 x 23. 


4. Drawing Room, 16 x 23. 


19. 


Do. 10 X 14. 


5. Library, 15 x 19. 


20. 


Do. 15 X 20. 


C. Dining Room, 23 x' 16. 


21. 


Do. 15 X 16. 


Y. Butler's Pantry. 


22. 


Bath Room. 


8. Kitchen, 16 x 20. 


23. 


Passage. 


9. Store Closet. 


24. 


Chamber, 10 x 13. 


10. Veranda. 


25. 


Do. 12 X 16. 


11. Do. 




, 


12. Do. 






13. Do. 






14. Servants' Stairs. 






15. Principal Stairs. 







This house is designed with particular reference to durability 
and facilities foi' warming and ventilating. No perishable material 
is used in its construction. The walls are built of stone ; the j^ar- 
titions, where the proper support is obtained, are of brick, and 
elsewhere of galvanized lath ; the window frames are of iron, and 
all the floors of cement, with a strip at the side for securing car- 
pets. The roof is of slate, while the stairs and inside trimmings 
19 



130 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

are entirely of metal or composition. Thus the building is ren- 
dered secure from the ravages of fii-e and from decay. 

Much has already Leeu said on the importance of ventilation, 
3"et there is danger of doing too much as well as too littJe in this 
matter. The subject has become almost a monomania with some, 
and it is imagined that, unless there are top and bottom injecting 
and ejecting flues, arranged on scientific principles, and so comijli- 
cated as to keep both mind and body continually in action in the 
management of them, the air must be poisonous. 

Ay-ain, we see the same wild schemes in rea:ard to heating;. 
The idea prevails, to a certain extent, that a hot-air furnace is, of 
all things, most injurious ; that the heat generated by it consumes 
instantly and eftectually the vital proj)erties of the atmosphere. 
Therefore, hot-air furnaces are condemned in toto, and steam, hot 
water, and other complicated and expensive contrivances are re- 
sorted to. 

The fact is, that the fault is often more in the owner. than in 
the furnace. A man purchasing a furnace for the pui'pose of heat- 
ing his house frequently contents himself with one of the smallest 
possible size to save expense, knowing that, although the amount 
of air passing through it will be small, yet, by heating that small 
amount red hot, it will warm his house. Undoubtedly this object 
will be eflfected, but no less surely will the oxygen of the air be 
burnt out vnth such violent heat, and the lungs, habitually inhal- 
ing this parched and vitiated atmosphere, be mucli injured there- 
by. Were he to expend a trifle more for a furnace which would 
introduce a larger volume of air, moderately heated, he would find 
that air as soft and pleasant as that radiated from steam or hot 
water, and at the same time he would procure a saving in fuel, 
and perhaps still more in doctors' bills. 

The only advantage we perceive in the steam and water fur- 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 131 

naces over those constructed for liot air, is tlie impossibility of 
producing hj their agency more than a certain degree of heat. 
Therefore, in order to have a sufficient amount, the radiating sur- 
face must l)e increased in proportion to the extent of space to be 
warmed ; while the superiority of the hot-au- furnace must be evi- 
dent from its greater simplicity of construction and its costing 
but about one third. 

" Modern improvements " are excellent things until used in ex- 
cess, and they then become more troublesome than useful. This is 
especially true of ventilation ; for, however complicated an arrange- 
ment may be requisite in a public building foi' this purpose, yet, 
in a dwelling, the more simple the method, the more effectually it 
will act. It is perhaps difficult to say which, among so many, is 
the best system, but we would suggest the following as simple 
and effective. 

We will suppose our house to be heated with, say, one of 
Bojniton's hot air furnaces of large dimensions, so that the fresh 
air flows from it throughout the building in no way diminished in 
purity, but merely changed by having the chill taken off and ren- 
dered mild and delightful. Warm air, as we ai-e all aware, has a 
tendency to rise ; hence, if we place our ventilator at the ceiling, 
the flow of air will be in a direct line from the register to it, and 
thus only that portion of the room which lies between these points 
A\'ill be either warmed or ventilated. Where, then, shall the oj)en- 
ing for ventilation l)e ? Placing it at the bottom of the room, the 
warm air rises, as before, to the ceiling, but, finding no escape 
there, it must seek a downward channel ; and if now the opening 
be on the opposite side from the register, all the air in the room 
must be kept in motion. We thus obtain an atmosphere pure, and, 
at all seasons, as agreeable as that of summer. It remains to de- 
scribe the construction of the ventilating flue. Every room in our 



132 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

house, of coiu'se, lias a fireplace, tliougli we liaA'e obviated, in a 
great measure, tlie necessity of fires. Here is unquestionably the 
place for the ventilator, and the whole complicated mystery of suc- 
cessful heating and good ventilation is solved by a large hot-air fur- 
nace in the cellar and a fii'eplace in every room. We would also 
advise, as a material assistance in the work of ventilation, a little 
fire in the grate, securing, by this, a better draught, and requiring 
less heat in the furnace. Tho old style of anthracite grates has al- 
most fallen into disuse, and the English soft-coal grates are taking 
theii- place. Soft coal is not only more cheerful, reminding us of 
the good old days of wood fii-es, but its effect is not so drying upon 
the air. 

If wood or bituminous coal is used, however, the chimney flues 
should be built larger, as they otherwise are apt to become ob- 
structed by soot. Finally, we would reconunend the use of double 
sashes in winter, by which a great deal of cold air is excluded. 

Estimate. — This building, in stone, would cost about $11,500. 



€S^ 



tj'm 











P n Sy M La « - 43 VV 




>- 



AfFr> 



DESIGN N9 26. 





IIIMIIIIII I |_ 



DESIGN No. 25. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Porch. 

2. Vestibule. 

3. Hall. 

4. Library, 14 x 17. 

5. Staircase. 

6. Passage. 

7. Butler's Pantry. 

8. Dining Room, 14 x 18. 

9. Alcove, 12 x 13. 

10. Coat Closet. 

11. Drawing Room, 15 x 20. 
13. Boudoir, 9 x 13. 

13. Veranda. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 

14. Staircase. 

15. Hall. 

10. Chamber, 14 x 14. 

17. Closet. 

18. Chamber, 14 x 18. 

19. Do. 9 X 13. 

20. Do. 15 X 20. 

21. Bath Room. 

22. Linen Closet. 



A BuiLDBSTG like tliis, which is of the feudal or castellated style, 
should be adopted ouly with the greatest cautiou, as the contrast 
between modern and feudal life is so great that, without a nice 
adaptation of cii'cumstances, it may appear ridiculous to build, and 
much more ridiculous to occupy, such au establishment. This 
style, referred to in Chap. I., is similar to that which existed prior 
to the union of ^he Houses of York and Lancaster, after which 
event there no longer existed any necessity for private fortifi- 
cations. 



134 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

The following extract from an English writer will give the 
reader some idea of an edifice of this kind : 

" The situation of castles of the Anglo-Norman kings and bar- 
ons was most commonly on an eminence and near a river — a situa- 
tion eligible on several accounts. The whole site of the castle 
(which was frequently of great extent and irregular figure) was 
surrounded by a deep and broad ditch, sometimes filled Avith wa- 
ter, and sometimes dry. Before the great gate was an outwork 
called a barbican, which was a strong and high wall, with tuiTets 
upon it, for the defence of the gate and drawbridge. On the in- 
side of the ditch stood the wall of the castle, about ten feet thick 
and twenty feet high, Avith battlements on toj^ ; on this wall, at 
proper distances, high, square toAvers were built, which served for 
lodging some of the principal ofiicers, and on the outside were 
erected, lodgings for the common servants or retainers, granaries, 
store houses, and other necessary offices, and on the flat roofs of 
these buildings stood the defenders of the castle, when it was be- 
sieged, and from thence discharged arrows, darts, and stones on 
the besiegers. The great gate of the castle stood in the course of 
this wall, and was strongly fortified with a tower on each side, and 
rooms over the passage, which was closed with folding doors of 
oak, often plated with iron, and with an iron portcullis, or gate, let 
down from above. Within this outward wall was an open space, 
or coiu't, in which stood frequently a church or chapel. Here, also, 
was another ditch, Avail, gate, and tower, enclosing the inner 
court, Avithin Avhich the chief tower, or keep, was built, which was 
the residence of the baron. Underground were dismal, dark 
vaults, for the confinement of prisoners, called the dungeon. In 
this building, also, was the great hall, in Avhich the owner dis- 
played his hospitality, by entertaining his numerous Mends and 
folloAvers. At one end of the great hall'was a place raised a little 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. . 135 

above the rest of the floor, called the dais^ where the chief table 
stood, at which persons of the highest rank dined. Though there 
were unquestionably great variations in the structure of castles and 
palaces in this period, yet the most perfect and magnificent of them 
seem to have been constructed on the above plan. Such, to give 
an examjjle, was the famous castle at Bedford, as appears from the 
following account of the manner in which it was taken by Henry 
III., A. D. 1224 : ' The castle was taken by four assaults. In the 
first was taken the barbican ; in the second the outer ballia, or 
court ; at the third attack, the wall by the old tower was thrown 
down by the miners, when, ^vith great danger, they possessed 
themselves of the inner ballia, through a chink ; at the fourth as- 
sault, the miners set fire to the tower, so that the smoke burst out, 
and the tower itself was cloven to that degree, as to show visibly 
some broad chinks, whereupon the enemy surrendered.' '' 

After the age of Edward I., we find another kind of castle in- 
troduced, approaching nearer to the idea of modern palaces. The 
first was that of Windsor, built by Edward HI. This convenient 
and enlarged style of building was soon imitated on a lesser scale by 
the nobles of the realm, and two remarkable instances, wherein con- 
venience and magnificence "vvere singularly blended at this period, 
may be found in the castles of Harewood and Spoftbrd, in York- 
shire. The improvements at Kenilworth aftbi'd another instance 
of the great enlargement which the English castles received during 
this age. Of course, a full description of these feudal residences 
need not be entered into here, especially as this has already been 
done by other and abler writers. For descriptions of this kind, 
the reader is referred to the works of Sir Walter Scott, and more 
particularly Kenilworth and Ivanhoe. 

Shortly after this period gunpowder was invented, which, in- 
stead of bringing war and bloodshed into the world, proved the 



136 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

most effectual means of preventing tliem. The people of England, 
instead of requiring castellated residences, now put their trust in 
their " wooden walls," and their fighting was done far away from 
their native shores. Therr j)rivate strongholds were soon in ruins, 
dismantled T)y shot and shell ; and with the dissolution of feudal- 
ism, the mind of the nation soon 1>roke the cords which had bound 
it for so many centuries ; a ray of light dawned, and the " dark 
a^es " dated amono- the things that were. From this time until 
Tudor architecture was fully established in England, a style be- 
tween the castellated and that described in No. 27 was generally 
adopted for domestic dwellings, of which the accompanying design 
is an attempted imitation. It will be observed that all the old 
contrivances to obtain strength and seclusion are here omitted, and 
comfort and convenience are substituted. The walls, for example, 
are no thicker than ordinary walls, and the windows, instead of 
being mere warlike loopholes, are of ample, peaceful dimensions, 
and are filled with glass. Here, too, we have committed the ana- 
chronism of introducing chimneys and bay windows, with, what is 
still more unusual in castles, a porch without a portcullis, and a 
veranda. All these, however foreign to the requu'ements of a cas- 
tle, are yet of use to us, and whatever style we may adopt, we do 
not hesitate to add to it, to the best of our ability, any improve- 
ment which convenience or necessity may require. Yet all such 
additions must be treated with the greatest care, lest we violate 
some of the characteristics of the style. 

Our site, then, for an edifice like this, must be somewhat for- 
midable, and have at least the appeai'ance of being able to resist a 
siege. The interior we find provided with modern improvements, 
and generally convenient. A door gives entrance to the vestibule 
from the porch, and this conducts us to the hall. The first door at 
the I'ight opens into a coat closet ; the next communicates with the 



HOLLY'S COrNTRY SEATS. 137 

drawing room. This is elliptical in plan. The boudoir is a cozy 
apartment, quite retired, and is furnished with a closet. The dining 
room is of spacious dimensions, and has a large alcove somewhat 
after the fashion of the Dais, above mentioned, separated from the 
main apartment by an arch, from which curtains may be hung, thus 
rendering this Dais or bay sufficiently private for a sitting or music 
room. This, too, would be an admirable arrangement for tableaux 
or private theatricals, or, in case of an entertainment, as a practi- 
cal enlargement of the dining room. The butler's pantry is of 
good size, communicating by a dumb waiter with the kitchen be- 
low. The library is octagonal, having fom' sides for books, while 
the others are occupied by doors, windows, and fireplace. There is 
but one stairway in this house, which extends from the basement 
to the top of the tower, but so retired that othe:c stairs are deemed 
unnecessary. The second story contains four large bedrooms, a 
linen closet and bath room, while the servants' and store rooms are 
in the attic. 

Estimate. — ^This building, in stone, would cost about $9,500. 
20 " . 
















a 

(0 



DESIGN No. 26, 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Veranda. 

2. Hull. 

3. Drawing Rooms, 18 x 18, and 

18 X 23. 

4. Veranda. 

5. Dining Room, 17 x 25. 

6. Principal Stairway. 

7. Servants' Stairway. 

8. Kitchen, 19 x 22. 

9. Laundry, 12 x 12. 

10. Wood House, 15 x 20. 

11. Yard. 

12. Gateway. 

13. Privy. 

14. Shed. 

15. Carriage house and Stable, 

15 X 28. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 

16. Hall. 

17. Linen Closet. 

18. Chamber, 18 x 18. 

19. Do. 18 X 18. 

20. Do. 17 X 25. 

21. Do. 8 X 10. 

22. Hall. 

23. Bath Room. 

24. Chamber, 16 x 19. 

25. Do. 15 X 15. 

26. Do. 15 X 18. 



Theee is a passion prevalent in our cities, and the rural dis- 
tricts are not wholly exempt from it, for producing tlie greatest 
possible show with the least amount of expense. We are well 
aware that this tendency is generally considered vulgar, and when 
developed to any great degree, is doubtless open to this imputa- 
tion ; yet in moderation it is but the expression of a considerable 



140 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

self-respect. In building, we think a just amount of this feeling is 
eminently laudable. 

As an illustration, let us suppose a small domain of some two 
or three acres to have been selected, on which we propose to es- 
tablish a dwelling, and all the appendages of a small country place. 
With limited means, we desire to make our place as imposing in 
appearance as possible, the house itself to be of moderate size, hav- 
ino; thi-ee rooms and a kitchen on the fii'st floor. Now, instead of 
scattering about the grounds the necessary out-buildings, let us 
group them in such a manner that, taken in connection with the 
house, they shall each have a value in the tout ensemhle, and ap- 
pear of the grand design. "We thus have our wood house, shed, 
carriage house, <fec., together, with an enclosed yard for domestic 
purposes, all apparently fonniug an extension of the dweEing, and 
giving our humble house a very desirable degree of dignity and 
importance, while the position of these subordinate appendages is 
most convenient. But should we stop here, we defeat our object ; 
for nothing can be more unbecoming or pretentious than so imj)os- 
ing an array of buildings in so small a domain. We require at 
least the appearance of a tract of forty or fifty acres, to con-espond 
with the proportions of the building. How shall this be effected ? 
Shall we make the glass of our windows magnifiers ? This would 
do if we were always within doors, but would hardly give the 
same result from without. The remedy is an easy and natural one. 
Instead of enclosing your narrow park with a formal fence, stand- 
ing out in bold relief, and absolutely diminishing by one half the 
apparent extent of yom- land, build a stone wall of barely sufli- 
cient height to prevent the incursion of cattle ; inside this make a 
bank of earth, sloping gradually from the top of this wall to the 
ground. This bank you will tm'f in the same manner as a lawn. 
Thus the wall is entirely removed from sight, and the adjoining 



1 




f= • ' 

4 




DESIGN N ■ 20 




^ -^ 



de:s IC^ N! 27. 




HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 141 

land blends with your own, and appears as mucli a part and par- 
cel of the whole as if you owned for miles around. 

Let us now proceed to a detailed description of the building 
itself. 

As we approach the main entrance, we pass a wide veranda, 
which communicates mth the princijial rooms of the gi'ound floor. 
The main hall is spacious and well lighted, and, being unobstruct- 
ed by the stairs, might serve the purpose of a sitting room. The 
drawing rooms are separated by sliding doors, so that one might 
be used as a library. The dining room has a niche for a sideboard, 
and a bay -wandow, surrounded outside by a balcony. This room 
communicates with the kitchen offices by a private entry, which 
contains a stairway, dresser, butler's sink, &c., and has an exit 
front and rear. The kitchen is of large proj^ortions, well lighted, 
and connecting with the wood house and lauudiy, the latter of 
which is provided with large pantries and a fireplace. The wood- 
house floor is lower than that of the main buildino^, and on a level 
with the yard, to give greater height for accommodation of stores. 
The yard before spoken of, is for drying clothes and other domestic 
purposes, and is concealed by a high wall, provided with a wide 
gateway, and broken by a lofty, picturesque aviary. 

The stable and carriage house, with a room for a man servant 
in hay loft above, are at the extremity of the group. The advan- 
tage of having these appendages thus remote from the house is 
obvious. 

The shed, at No. 14, we would always recommend as an ap- 
pendage to every country house ; for it not only acts as a store 
place and refuge for fowls, but serves the hospitable purpose of 
sheltering both horse and carriage of your transient guest. 

The chamber accommodations of this house are ample, as it 
contains seven bed rooms, a bath room and linen closet, while ser- 



142 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

vauts' and store rooms may be had in the attic. The kitchen 
chimney is built on the outside of the house, thus serving to re- 
lieve the bareness of the walls, by a pleasing external feature, 
affording more room for the first and second stories, and excluding 
the heat in summer. 

An objection was raised in Design No. 3 to the finials and 
ridge ornaments, as serving merely an aesthetical purjDose, but here 
this objection does not obtain, since they are of practical utility. 
They are of iron, and, bristling with a decorated design, form 
points for the lightning, and are connected with an ornamental con- 
ductor, leading to the ground. 

Estimate. — This building, in stone, would cost about $10,500. 













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DESIGN No. 27. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN, 

1. Carriage Porch. 

2. Hall, 15 X 17. 

3. Drawing Eoom, 21 x 26. 

4. Cabinet, 12 x 12. 

5. Library, 15 x 20. 

6. Staircase Hall. 

7. Bedroom, 16 x 20. 

8. Dining Room, 23 x 20. 

9. Butler's Pantry. 

10. Servants' Staircase. 

11. Coat Closet. 

12. Veranda. 

13. Do. 



SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 

14. Hall. 

15. Bath Room. 

16. Tower Staircase. 

17. Chamber, 23 x 20. 

18. Do. 16 X 20. 

19. Do. 15 x"20. 

20. Hall. 

21. Linen Closet. 

22. Chamber, 15 x 20. 

23. Do. 21 x 26. 

24. Dressing Room, 12 x 12. 



The reader is now presented witli a design, wliicli may be re- 
garded as approaeliing that of an old English seat, built on a libe- 
ral scale. The style adopted is that described in Chap. I., called 
the Tudor, which was in vogue in England between the reigns of 
Henry VII. and Elizabeth. This may be considered as the first 
real develojiment of domestic architecture in England, since, pre- 
vious to the union of the Houses of York and Lancaster, through 
the marriage of Henry VII., the fortified castle was the only safe 
place of residence for either royalty or nobility. When, after years 



144 HOLLY'S COUXTRT SEATS. 

of internal "broils and civil discord, permanent peace was restored 
to the nation, tlie entire mode of life was radically changed, and in- 
stead of fortified dwellings, the nobility and gentry began to build 
mansions more in accordance with the modern idea of domestic 
comfort and elegance. Formidable barriers of rock were no longer 
considered the most eligible building sites, but the shady grove, 
the gentle slope of lawns and parks, the hill and river side, became 
the chosen abodes of the wealth and culture of the nation. The 
portcullis and drawbridge were no' longer required, the massive 
walls were not an imperative necessity ; the loopholes gave place 
to windows and bays ; ornaments of convenience and utility made 
their appearance, clustering chimneys towered up to the skies ; 
porches and oriels adorned the walls, and the roofs were combina- 
tions of battlement and gable ; in short, the Tudor style was a 
union of all that was beautiful in both castle and abbey. 

The main entrance of this design has rather an ecclesiastical 
character. The pointed roof and window of the second story is of 
the style of the thiii;eenth centmy, while the flat arch of the car- 
riage porch and the buttresses which stregthen the piers are of the 
fifteenth. The battlemeuted towers and parapets which here and 
there show themselves, partake strongly of the castellated feeling, 
and the bay windows, chimneys, &c., may be regarded as new fea- 
tures, peciiliar to the Tudor. 

As we drive imder the porch, which is under a portion of 
the second story, w^e enter a broad and spacious hall, which 
communicates by folding doors with the library in the rear. This 
library is lighted by a triplet Gothic window, facing the folding 
doors. The lisht comina; from but one direction in rooms of 
this character, is an advantage of which we have had fi-equent 
occasion to speak. The cli'awing room is of good size, and con- 
nects with a little cabinet used for the purpose of containing curi- ' 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 145 

osities, but wLicli may be converted into a private music room. 
The staircase hall is apart, and communicates with the dining room 
and bedroom, and has an exit on the rear veranda. The dining 
room is somewhat octagonal in form, but the fireplace and opposite 
window recede, so as to give a greater length in this direction. 
The butler's pantry, which connects with the private staircase, 
tower, and main stairs, contains a sink, dresser, and dumb waiter, 
which communicates with the kitchen. A kitchen might be ar- 
ranged on the first floor, in lieu of the bedroom, communicating 
with the dining room through its present closet. A kitchen on 
both floors, in a house of this size, is frequently advisable. The 
private stairs, above alluded to, extend from the basement, wind- 
ing through the tower, to the various stories abov^e, and so to the 
top, which is protected, as will be seen, by the battlement. This 
roof is of such a height that the views from it, even on ordinary 
sites, must be very extensive. After ascending the main stairs to 
the second story hall, we are struck with the spacious apartments 
so numerous upon this floor. 

The bath room and Avater closet communicate with the hall, 
and the plumbing of the various stories, which are sup])lied with 
■water from a tank in the attic, is economized by the exact super- 
im})osition of the apartments in which it is used. The billiard 
room and spare chambers are arranged in the attic, where suflacient 
height of ceiling is obtained, without infringing on a large space 
between the ceiling and roof, which is designed to prevent the di- 
rect action of the weather, and to give good air for the rooms be- 
low, whose ventilating shafts terminate in this space, and all pass 
throua;li an " Emerson ventilator " above the roof 

The view given of this house is taken from a point in' 

front, where the verandas, which are all in the rear, are not 

■ seen. The reason of this is, the exposure and view fi'om the 
21 



146 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

front are not particularly desirable, while in tlie rear they are 
peculiarly so. 

The material of this house would naturally be stone ; yet if 
that is not of convenient access, brick or stucco would not be ob- 
jectionable ; Ijut wood is not in any case adapted to this style of 
architecture, as its details are designed only for masomy. 

Ivy or other vines are always appropriate for the ornamenting 
of the Gothic, and add much to its picturesqueness. As the Eng- 
lish ivy is not a hardy plant in our country, the Virginia creeper 
is often substituted with good effect. Its only disadvantage is 
that it is not an evergreen ; yet it leaves out early in the Spring, 
and is in constant verdure until late in Autumn, when it is 
changed by frost into the most gorgeous tints imaginable. The 
English ivy in some localities has, even in our coldest ex]:)osures, 
been made to thrive and grow vigorously, as at the I'esidence of 
the late Washington Irving, where the ivy literally covers one side 
of the house. 

It \vill lie found advantageous, in cultivating this vine, to plant 
it on the north side of the house, where, after it has been touched 
by frost, it is not immediately exposed to the sun, which is often 
the greater enemy of the two. It needs but little heat, and consid- 
erable hmnidity of atmosphere, as in England. 

Estimate. — This l)uilding, in stone, would cost about $28,000. 



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DESIGN No. 28. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 

1. Veranda. 7. Saloon, 18 x 43. 

2. Hall. 8. Pantry. 

3. Drawing Koom, 20 x 36. 9. Safe. 

4. Sitting Room, 20 x 23. 10. Veranda. 

5. Dining Room, 18 x 18. 11. Carriage Porch. 

6. Butler's Pantry. 12. Library, 15 x 21. 



Alterations of old buildings, wlieu extensive, are not usually 
considered advisable, as tlie cost of much alteration is nearly, if 
not quite, equal to that of an entirely new edifice. Another seri- 
ous objection is the embarrassment usually attending the fixed 
lines of the original structure, which limit the architect to a nar- 
row field for the display of whatever a1:>ility he may possess. Yet 
it frequently happens that a family have already on their land a 
decent dwelling, endeared by many associations, whose total de- 
struction would seem almost sacrilegious, as well as wanton waste 
of property. Either a new field must be sought for the desired 
improvements, or we must alter the present mansion ; and the lat- 
ter is the usual and perhaps more natural course. 

This is no easy task for the architect, who, when a double la- 
bor has been expended, and but a partial effect produced, may 



148 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

well shrink from that paternal responsibility whicli otherwise he 
would readily have assumed, and de})i'ecate the criticism which, 
under other circumstances, he would yladly have invited. 

The accompanying design will somewhat illustrate how far we 
have been successful in the alteration of a moderately sized dwell- 
ing, which was the residence of Geo. A. Hoyt, Esq., of Stamford, 
Conn. The original building, which may be seen in the vignette 
at the right of the ground plan, was finely situated within an en- 
closure of some half dozen acres, shaded by deciduous trees. The 
building ^vas of stone, and of so substantial a character and so 
well arranged, that the owner wisely concluded that alteration 
would l)e better than tearing down and l)uilding aue^v. In the 
l)lau of the first story, the dark portion represents the old house, 
and the lighter the additions. 

The original arrangement was preserved so far as was practi- 
cable. Tlie drawiuo; room, which was added, beins; much larger 
than the other rooms, it ^vas thought should have a greater height 
of ceiling than the rest of the house, and this caused a discre2)ancy 
of some four feet between the roofs. Some difficulty ^^■as antici- 
pated in the management of this room to obtain sufficient size, as 
we were unable to extend it more than twenty feet from the house, 
and the rear wall was fixed by the position of the dining room 
windows. Not wishing to cut off the light, it was decided to ex- 
tend the addition ten feet in front, and thus, by the aid of a large 
bay window, sufficient room was obtained. Again, the library and 
chamber above were too small. How else could we enlarsre them 
than by extending them in the same manner ? Wc cannot have a 
bay window in the library, as it would project into the road lead- 
ing to the carnage porch ; but this room is now large enough, and 
the trouble is with the bedroom alcove. This must be increased 
in size ; but how shall it be eftected 'i The idea suggests itself 



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DESIGN N?29, 





DESIGN N928. 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 149 

tliat a bay window may be placed in the second story, not extend- 
ing to the ground, but supported by brackets, forming what may 
be called an oriel. Now that we have an interior of sufficient size, 
how shall we treat these awkward projections without ? It occurs 
to us that we require an observatory, as no extended view can be 
had from the lower rooms, and the view in the distance is fine. 
We will therefore run the library projection above the roof and 
form a tower. This we Avill furnish \Aath a railing, that we may 
mount to the very summit. Thus we relieve the discrepancy in 
height of the drawing room roof, which made the house look one- 
sided and unsymmetrical. Now we have obtained a balance of 
parts ; and the irregularity of the roof gives the whole design a 
distinctive and decided character, and a broken and picturesque 
skyline. 

The French chateau roof, Avhich we have adopted, gives ample 
space for servants' apartments and other necessary rooms in the 
attic, and, by the flat on top, furnishes a means of collecting water 
for the tank, and provides a place on which we may walk, sur- 
rounded, as it is, with an iron railing for protection. We have 
provided, also, that the projections of the di-awing room and li- 
brary shall be just sufficient to receive the veranda, which extends 
along the front and sides of the house, and fills up the vacancy be- 
tween. We now discover that the veranda around the saloon ex- 
cludes the light fi'om the kitchen, which is directly beneath it. 
Here is an unforeseen difficulty. We must have this veranda, and 
the location of the kitchen cannot be changed. We have seen in 
the city large blocks of glass let into the floor, that the light fi'om 
a skylight above may pass through to the story below. This idea 
we adopt. That part of the veranda floor directly over each win- 
dow in the kitchen we make of this thick glass, and are gratified 
to find that our experiment is entirely successful. 



DESIGN No. 29. 



FIRST FLOOR PLAN. 


SECOND FLOOR PLAN. 


1. Carriage Porch. 


19. Staircase Hall. 


■ 2. Stoop. 


20. Linen Closet. 


3. Vestibule. 


21. Water Closet. 


4. Hall, (including Vestibules,) 


22. HaU. 


20 X 12.5. 


23. Openings. 


5. Drawing Eoom, 28 x 50. 


24. Chamber, 20 x 25. 


6. Boudoir, 21 x3G. 


25. Bath Room. 


7. Sitting Room, 24 x 30. 


26. Chamber, 28 x 32. 


8. Billiard Room and Picture 


27. Do. 21 X 26. 


Gallery, 28 x 40. 


28. Do. 24 X 30. 


9. Grand Staircase Hall. 


29. Upper Part of Picture Gal 


10. Vestibule. 


lery, 28 x 40. 


11. Library, 28 x 36. 


30. Grand Stan-case Hall. 


12. Dining Room, 28 x 40. 


31. Chamber, 18 x 20. 


13. China Closet. 


32. Hall. 


14. Butler's Pantry. 


33. Chamber, 28 x 28. 


15. Kitchen, 26 x 34. 


34. Do. 28 X 40. 


16. Pantry. 


35. Dressing Room. 


17. Laundry, 17 x 26. 


36. Bath Room. 


18. Staircase HaU. 


37. Chamber, 24 x 30. 




38. Do. 26 X 34. 


B. Balcony. 


39. Bath Room. 


V. Veranda. 


40. Dressing Eoom. 


F. B. Flower Beds. 




T. W.* Terrace Wall, 





152 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

This villa was designed for a wealthy gentleman, who lias re- 
cently purchased one of the most charming sites on the shores of 
the Sound. The grounds are of some years' standing, and were 
laid out by one of the best landscape gardeners in the country. 
They are covered with the choicest kinds of evergreen and decid- 
uous trees, so arranged as to enhance the natural beauties of the 
place. The estate has lately been much improved by the intro- 
duction of artificial waters in fountains, lakes, and streams, with 
the usual concomitants of aquatic birds and plants, arbors, bridges, 
and pleasure boats. The roads are well made, and wind gracefully 
among groves and lawns, and by the water side, in such a manner 
as to deceive the eye, and cause the small park of fifty acres to 
seem double that size. 

It is pleasant to note this growing disposition among our 
wealthy citizens to cultivate the refinements of rural beaiities. In 
our cities we often find sums lavished on palatial residences, suffi- 
cient to build a host of villas in the coimtry, and yet the ettect 
of such lavish expenditure is comparatively lost amid so much te- 
dious repetition of design. It seems to us a marked indication 
of wisdom and good taste, instead of expending a princely amount 
on a narrow plot of ground in some aristocratic quarter of the 
city, to establish an elegant and independent country seat, at a less 
actual outlay, with gardens and pleasure grounds, and all those 
elegant appliances of a luxurious rural home, which, while they 
delight and give occupation to the mind, do not, like the dissipa- 
tions of the city, debauch the body and undemiine the health. To 
be " monarch of all he surveys," in the midst of the fine repose and 
healthy ease of an estate in the country, is the unfailing desire of 
every man Avho has resources within himself against ennui, and 
large capacities to develop in the paths of elegant culture. It may 
be said that such a home as we have pictured is a luxury too ex- 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. I53 

l^ensive to be dreamed of save by few. Sucli is not the case to the 
extent generally sujjposed. The difference in taxes alone between 
town and country would defray the extra expense of maintaining 
the grounds, and the many economical advantages of a country life 
have beeu too often dwelt upon to need recapitulation here. 

The exterior of this house, which is strictly Italian, and in har- 
mony with the scenery amid which it is placed, is intended to con- 
vey the sentiments of refined hoiisehold comfort and repose, and of 
a large and noble hospitality. The architecture being rather of a 
grave and formal character, it seems necessary to separate it some- 
what from the easy slopes and natural grace of the lawns and 
l)anks around, by a broad terrace, Avhich acts as a base to the 
building, and prepares the mind for the comparative severity of its 
lines. By referring to the ground plan, it will be observed that 
on two sides of the house the carriage road occuj^ies the space be- 
tween the terrace wall and the house, while on the other sides this 
space is occupied by flower beds, statuary, and fountains. The in- 
troduction of these latter features upon the lawn Avould produce an 
incongruous effect, they being too precise and formal for such a 
position. But this objection does not attach to their j^resent loca- 
tion, where the object is to establish a connection between the se- 
verity of architecture and the easy, natural grace of nature. While 
the advantage of such artificial ornaments, as seen from the win- 
dows and balconies, is obvious, yet they form but a foreground to 
the wider extent of the park and woodland beyond. 

The carriage porch is unusually large, being long enough to 
shelter both carriage and horses. The veranda and balconies, 
which are very wide, extend quite around the house, forming a 
walk of several hundred feet. The ceilings of the first story are 
twenty feet high, and the extreme width of the main hall is the 

same. This hall has two large openings (23, 23) in the ceiling, 

2iZ 



154 HOl-LY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

extending tlirongli tlie second story to tlie roof, wliere tliere are 
domes suiToimded by skylights. 

The drawing room, boudoir, music, and billiard rooms supply a 
vista through the house by the ojoeniug of folding doors, while the 
dining room, hall, and billiard room may be connected in the same 
manner. The billiard room, also used as a picture gallery, extends 
up to the roof, and has a railed balcony between the openings (23, 
29). This room is lighted from above, and also at the side, by a 
high triplet window, which may be regulated by shades. 

The dining room communicates with the kitchen hj a large 
butler's pantry, the laundry with the linen closet on the second 
story, and the drying room in the attic liy a dumb waiter. The 
second story contains nine sleeping apartments, all large, and most 
of them connected with bath and di'essing rooms. The grand 
staircase occupies the entu"e tower, and extends to the observatory, 
while, at the other end of the hall, are other stairs of less j^reten- 
sions, extending to the attic, which is divided into good apartments 
for servants' and store rooms. 

Estimate. — This building, in brick, would cost about $45,000. 




•j-fl'r. 



DESIGN No. 30. 

Of city architecture but little Las been said, because it is not 
strictly within the province of this work. There is, however, 
one phase of this architecture which recommends itself to om- 
notice, as embodying many of those principles which we have re- 
peatedly enumerated with reference to rm'al architectui-e, such as a 
more careful distribution of masses and a nicer study of extensive 
skylines "W'ith reference to block designs as seen fi-om a distance. 
In building on open spaces or parks, a proper observance of these 
principles is essential to elegance and artistic effect. 

Though our streets are lined for miles of theii" extent with ex- 
pensive buildings, their general perspective effect is so unsatisfac- 
tory that the stranger, for the first time in New York, is puzzled 
and embarrassed to find out the system on which we build. Pi'ob- 
ably there is no city in the world having streets as extensive as 
om" Broadway and Fifth Avenue, adorned with the same amount 
of pretentious and costly architecture ; but still the result is less 
pleasing than that in some streets of European towns, whose 
buildings are of a much plainer character. The reason of this is our 
total disregard of harmony. Our designs are often elaborate, and 
sometimes beautiful, yet, as they rarely have an opportunity for 
fiilly expressing themselves, but are iisually confined to one or two 
city lots, and as they are likely to be elbowed by uncongenial 



156 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

buildiugs on either side, the character of whose lines may materi- 
ally obviate or entirely cancel that of our own, the general result 
is like the disjecta membra poetce, chaotic, disconnected, and dis- 
cordant. 

These are defects which can scarcely be remedied where they 
already exist, but' which should ])e avoided in future erections. 
Especially should they be regarded in the construction of those 
buildings which are to spring up around our parks. Occupying 
sites so conspicuous, these blocks should be carefully studied in 
masses and outline, so that each house may not be entirely inde- 
pendent and individual as now, but a responsible part of a general 
design. This can only be effected by an agreement of all the par- 
ties proposing to build in the block, or by care being taken that 
each successive house, as it is erected, may form an harmonious 
union with those which have preceded it. It is not meant t!iat all 
should build alike — far from it ; since irregularity, Avith a due at- 
tention to harmony, is an important source of beauty in architec- 
ture. One roof may tower above another, neighboring houses may 
vary in height of stories or size or fashion of apertures, without 
being necessarily discordant one with another. It is only essential 
that these differences should be so managed as to combine with 
mutual advantage, so that no part of a block may seem to lie acci- 
dental or intrusive. 

Houses around parks may be viewed from a distance, where 
details are not visible, and theii- beaiity must therefore in great 
part consist in a judicious grouping of the several buildings in the 
block to produce some general design. What would be the ap- 
pearance fi-om the middle of a park of a block composed of eight 
separate and distinct styles of architecture, bearing no relation to 
each other — one tall, another short, one wide, another narrow, one 
with horizontal lines predominating, another with perpendicular 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 157 

lines predominating, one ornate, another bare, and so on ? Would 
it not remind one of tlie marslialling of the army of Falstaff ? 

In a narrow street, where we can do little more than examine 
fi'om a near point the details of each facade, the general design of a 
whole block is not of so much importance ; but in blocks fronting 
on an open square, it is not sufficient that each component house 
should be irreproachable as regards detail, but it should so har- 
monize with its neighbors that the whole would be a case of 
E jAurihiis unurn^ fi-om which secession would be equivalent to 
dissolution. 

What would be the result were the grand Park, which is to be 
the pride not only of our city, but of the entire country, a field for 
the disconnected operations of fifty different architects, each follow- 
ing his own design, without reference to the others ? Each might 
have merit in his invention, yet, without a jjroper mutual under- 
standing, the entire effect would be alisurd, and a result attained 
inferior to what the most unworthy among them might have ac- 
complished, if left to himself. 

Extensive property holders or speculators, who build an entire 
block, may carry throughout, of course, any design they prefer. 
It is to be regretted that they make use of this privilege not to 
create a itnify of design, but rather a uniformity — a weary and 
monotonous repetition of general features and details, the whole 
having the appearance of cheap contract work turned out with a 
machine, and the unfortunate purchaser, in the middle of such a 
block, can only recognize his own house by his name on the door- 
plate, or by the color of his curtains. 

The design we ofter is an attempt to prove that houses of dif- 
ferent heights and of different degrees of finish and costliness, may 
be put together so as to produce a harmonious whole. Obvious- 
ly, it is the duty of architects, when, as is usually the case, they are 



158 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

called upon to sandwich a house from between obstinate and stiff- 
necked neiglibors, with mndows of different heights, built of differ- 
ent materials, and with discordant lines, to act as a peacemaker, 
and do all he can with his own design to reconcile all these painful 
differences. The task is a difficult one, and the architect's skill is 
scarcely recognized by the public. But the problem is given, and 
it is for architects to solve it as best they can. 

Other governments have seen fit to legislate upon the subject 
of street architecture with the happiest results, and though cer- 
tainly sumptuary laws of this kind are not with us advisable, yet 
we have sometipies dreamed that architectural harmony might be 
encouraged by offering certain privileges, as a temporary reduction 
of taxes, to those who will submit their plans to the censorship of 
a public officer, chosen by architects, whose duty it shall be to ob- 
serve certain approved aesthetic standards of design of generous 
and not tyrannical application, as well as to preside over the ope- 
rations of the laws for protection against unsafe buildings. 



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DESIGN No. 31. 

In our country, utility and ugliness seem to be almost synony- 
mous terms. It is not understood that a useful object may be 
made beautiful, not only without destroying its utility, but even 
adding to it. For one of the great sources of beauty is fitness, and 
it has been observed that all those implements, whether of mechan- 
ism or husbandry, which are best suited for the purjjoses to which 
they are applied, are the most giviceful and pleasing in form. 

Perhaps no object suflfers so much, from a total disregard to 
this principle, as the saw mills of our country. They always, from 
necessity, occupy the wildest and most pictui'esque localities, 
where the best water-power can be obtained, and so unworthy are 
they usually to associate with such scenes, that we are in the habit 
of considering them nuisances and desecrations. We have endeav- 
ored to show in owv sketch that such building's need not neces- 
sarily be an offensive intrusion into the wild scenery where they 
belong. It needs but a judicious emphasis of those necessary fea- 
tures which may add to its picturesqueness of outline, such as ir- 
regularity of.i'oof, dormers and apertures of varying shapes, togeth- 
er with an artistic adjustment of great beams and foundation piers, 
so as to enter hapj^ily into the composition. Actually, such care- 
ful adjustment of parts need not add to the expense of the build- 
ing, or in the slightest degree interfere with its usefulness. 



160 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

But the rustic design wliicL ^ve present was scarcely intended 
to serve any legitimate pxu'pose of pi'actical utility. It is tlie pro- 
posed remodelling of an old dilapidated mill, wliicli liaj^pened to 
stand within the grounds of an extensive estate belonging to a 
wealthy proprietor, and which, instead of being suifered to fall to 
decay, was thought worthy of applying to uses not contemplated 
in its original intentions. 

With a slight outlay, such a structure may be converted to va- 
rious purposes of pleasure, while it may be made to harmonize 
happily with the scenery amidst which it stands. The old bridge, 
with its shed, which in bygone days served for the protection of 
the farmer's load of corn, may now shelter the saddle horses of a 
pleasure party on a sultry day. The first floor may serve as a 
summer house, a noonday resort for the family. The second floor 
may be used as a billiard room. Even the wheels may be pre- 
served, and, as the Vater privilege is as good as ever, it may be 
used to work the force pump connected with a reservoij-, from 
which may be obtained the household supply of water, and which 
may furnish a head for the fountains in the garden. The reservoir 
tower, too, may form another agreeable feature in the landscape, and 
from its elevated position may serve also as an observatory. In an 
estate like this, of one or two hundred acres, abundant resources 
for every amusement are embraced. Eural sports of all kinds may 
be enjoyed without leaving the grounds, and here the family, after 
the winter campaign of city life, and perhaps a brief dissipation at 
the watering places, may live as quiet and independent as if noth- 
ing of the world's follies could ever enter within the gates. 



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DESIGN No. 32. 



PLAN. 

1. Entrance Porch. 4. Vestry. 

2. Nave. 5. Chancel. 

3. Choir Transept. 



Some of the most pleasing and poetic ideas of our literature 
have arisen from associations connected with unpretending rm^al 
chiu-ches. Every person capable of sympathizing with these senti- 
ments will at once perceive the importance of allowing them to 
exercise a large influence over the construction of every such build- 
ing. It is from a continual and systematic disregard of these poetic 
associations that have arisen that vacancy and coldness of senti- 
ment which distinguish most of our parish chapels and " meeting 

houses." 

On a Sabbath morning, after the toil and cares of the week, 

spent, perhaps, in the town, and quite worn out by fatigue and 
heat, we involuntarily find consolation and pleasant greeting in 
the sweet soimds of " the church-going bells." Gently the melo*- 
dious strains fall from the modest spire and echo among the hills. 
Our steps are irresistibly drawn churchward. The village meeting 
house is nearer, and attended by a more fashionable audience, but we 
23 



162 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

tave seen enougli of sucli worship, aud long for a participation in 
that of a simpler and pui'er tone. So oui" first glance at the plain 
and almost severe architectui'e of this little chui'ch gives us a sen- 
sation of relief, and we feel that this indeed is " the house of God." 
We draw nearer by the winding roads, and at length reach the 
litch gate, that gives entrance into the churchyard. Here, shaded 
by noble trees, and among moss-covered gravestones, " the rude 
forefathers of the hamlet sleep." 

" Yet e'eu these bones from insult to protect, 
Some frail memorial still erected nigh, 
With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture decked, 
Implores the passing tribute of a sigh." 

Hard by stands the church. The i\^ has crept quite up its 
rugged walls, and, undistui'bed and undirected, invested them with 
tokens of the tender sympathy of nature. As we enter, we in- 
stinctively and reverently bow. As without, so within, all is plain 
and, it may be, rude, yet so strictly appropriate that the very au' 
seems holy. 

Let us turn from this quiet picture, and comjDare with it that 
much more frequent one of the pretentious and formal place of 
worship, which doubtless is a characteristic of our country. It 
stands in a cramped and unattractive spot, given, probably, by 
some worldly-minded parishioner, who, as he gave, estimated the 
sure rise in his surrounding land. A lumber merchant, a carpen- 
ter, and a " solid man " constitute the building committee. The 
material selected is wood, of coiu-se, that it may be furnished by 
the lumber merchant, and the carpenter make a good profit on the 
contract, while the plan adopted is that most pleasing to our " sol- 
id man," from whom a liberal donation is exj^ected. This is not 
an overdrawn picture, but only too truly indicates the manner in 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 163 

which many of our clim-clies are built. Frequently, stone designs 
are built in wood, sanded, and blocked off most cunningly. The 
interior walls of plaster must also represent stone, and the really 
respectable furniture of wood must be painted in imitation of some 
more expensive material. 

There can be no greater inconsistency than these continual ex- 
pressions of falsehood, in a place which should, of all others, be 
devoted to truth. If compelled, fi'om a scarcity of stone, or other 
cause, to employ wood, let your churches show a wood construc- 
tion ; if your interior walls are of plaster, so let them appear, ap- 
propriately ornamented, if you will, but never deceptive. 

The interior of the design we present is bold but simple. The 
north entrance porch is balanced by a similar structure on the 
south, which is used for the organ and choir, thus carrying out the 
cruciform plan. The principal feature is the deep and spacious 
chancel, which not only always adds great effect to the design, but 
gives solemnity to the services of the church. 

In regard to the bell, it may be necessary to state that the rope 
should pass thi'ough a pipe built in the wall and terminating in 
the vestry room, otherwise it would hang awkwardly before the 
chancel. 

E'Stimate. — The above design would cost about $6,000. The 
author has recently fiu'nished similar designs for a church at Wil- 
ton, Conn., to cost $4,500, with 350 sittings. 



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DESIGN No, 33. 



1. 1. Entrance Porch. 5. North Transept. 

2. Vestry. 6. South do. 

3. Library. 7. Nave. 

4. Chancel. 



"We have frequently been asked why Catholic places of wor- 
ship, and especially those of the Church of England, generally 
present an appearance so much more pleasing than those of other 
denominations. What is the seci'et of that graceful gravity, that 
" beauty of holiness," which so distinguishes the churches and 
chapels of the Romish and the " Estaldished " faiths ? From the 
time of Constantine until the Reformation, the Christian archi- 
tects, inspired by the idea of making a visible religion, of rendering 
the material church an exponent of the spiritual church, studied 
very deeply the aesthetical significance of form, and embodied the 
results of their researches in the most impressive series of build- 
ings the world has ever seen. They seemed to amalgamate matter 
and spirit into a vast system of symbolism, which exercised a des- 
potic sway over the art of architecture, not only in decorative de- 
tails, but in the general plans and outlines. It was not unnatural, 
therefore, that the Lutheran Reformers should regard with great 
distrust a style of architecture which seemed to have arisen from 



IQQ HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

the Popish. Ritual, aud to be full of the emotional wiles and strat- 
egies of the coiTuj)t church. After the Reformation, the feeling 
became so strong against the abuses of Rome that, in the anxiety 
to throw off all her evils, they discarded many good points, and 
among these, her grand and beautiful symbolic architecture. 

The Chui'ch of England, however, less radical than the other 
branches of Protestantism, within the present century has discov- 
ered this error, repau-ed her dilapidated cathedrals, and revived in 
her parish chm'ches the piu"e styles of bygone ages. 

The accompanying design, which was intended for a country 
parish chui'ch, is of the style of the fom'teenth centuiy, as described 
in Chap. I. The plan is cruciform, and the chancel window looks 
toward the East, thus preserving the two leading symbols of the 
mediaeval churches, and commemorating the birth and death of 
our Saviour. If we build for the worship of God, our building 
should be worthy of its sacred object. Doubtless, a lavish intro- 
duction of symbols, as such, vdthout any practical advantage at- 
tached to them, would not be consistent with the prejudices of 
many modern Christians ; but we wish to show that many of these 
emblems originally had a no less definite use than signification. 
With respect to the crucifonn plan, for instance, it is always ne- 
cessary in public aiiditoriums to bring the audience as near as pos- 
sible to the speaker. Now, as, in the accomjianpng design, the 
proportions of the roof limit the width of the nave, and the dis- 
tance from the chancel limits its length, we are obliged to add 
wings or transepts. These, if placed near the chancel, mth their 
galleries, bring the greater part of the congregation near it. We 
hiive also in this design extended the nave laterally by the aid 
of loAV aisles. 

To give light and ventilation to the upper part of the church, 
we introduce gablet windows, which siipj)ly the place of the more 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 167 

costly clerestory windows, and a lantern ventilator upon the roof. 
All these, it will be noticed, also act as aesthetic features, serving 
to break up the bareness and length of the roof, and give piquancy 
to the general lines. 

If a chimney is requu-ed in the church, we should not hesitate 
to show it, only the detailed treatment should be harmonious with 
the general design. Such an one we have endeavored to show on 
the right of this sketch. 

Estimate. — ^The above design would cost about $15,000. 




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DESIGN N? 34-. 



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DESIGN No. 34. 



PLAN. 



1. North Entrance, at Sidewalk. 

2. Covered Platform. 

3. Platform. 

4. Small Wood or Coal Shed. 

5. Hydrant. 

6. North Track. 

7. South do. 

8. South Platform. 

9. South Entrance, to outside 

stairs. 

10. Ladies' Retiring Room, 5 x 9. 

11. Package Office, 5x9. 



12. Ladies' Sitting Room, 15 x 

19. 

13. Ticket Office. 

14. South Main Entrance. 

15. Gentlemen's Sitting Room, 

15 X 19. 

16. Baggage Room, 15 x 19. 

17. Water Tower and Closet, 

9x9. 

18. Princip.!! Wood and Coal 

Shed. 

19. Bridge over Track. 



It is now receiv-ed as an axiom in modern political economy, 
that the construction of railways from large cities through the 
rural districts not only must increase the population and indus- 
tiy of such districts, but must act as most effective agents of 
social reform. The natui-al overflow of the city into the countiy 
Jiecessarily carries with it an element of refinement and culture, 
so that we find society, in every village which is touched 
by a railroad, slowly and surely impro%Tng, as is plainly shown 
in the vanishing of old Puritan, Dutch, or Quaker prejudices 



170 HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 

in tlie matter of architecture, before the healthy example of 
the rusticating citizen, who builds his elegant villa or picturesque 
cottage in their neighborhood. It is certainly reasonable to sup- 
pose that railway companies themselves, being thus the great 
modern civilizing instruments, would be foremost in setting exam- 
ples of improved taste and culture before the people, by building 
stations along their lines, which should be agreeable objects to look 
upon, and stand as models of design. Such seed, though sown by 
the wayside, would not be entirely lost, but Avould Surely bear its 
fi-uits in the increased refinement of rural sentiment, and the great- 
er demand for country places along the lines of railway routes. 
Usually, however, these railway stations, even on our most promi- 
nent roads, are of the most uninviting or even ridiculous appear- 
ance. When they are not beggarly, they are often absurdly pre- 
tentious. We remember seeing a fi'equented railway station fash- 
ioned somewhat after the manner of a hugh Egyptian temple, with 
the fuel house near by imitated from the towering Pylon, yet all 
built 7no$t palpably and paiiifvlly of hoards ! We are glad to note, 
however, that in some individual instances an evidence of an im- 
proved taste and a more refined feeling for elegance or propriety 
is shown. We wish that the stranger, entering an American town 
or village, were welcomed by something more inviting than those 
rude sheds under which he shakes off the dust of travel. 

Perhaps nothing more readily attracts the attention of the 
American traveller than the beautiful little stations which, Avith 
endless variety, are dotted along the railway web of Great Britain 
and the continent. There railway travelling is a luxury, not only 
in the assurance of safety, and the splendid fitting of the carriages, 
but in the tasteful little stations which not only charm the eye by 
their agreeable exteriors, but comfort the weariness of journeying 
by their convenient and perfect arrangement mthin. In our country 



HOLLY'S COUNTRY SEATS. 171 

such a mode of conveyance involves somewhat of personal clanger, 
as the lists of casualties assure us, and the eye is constantly offend- 
ed by those unworthy structm-es which we dignify with the name 
of stations. 

We by no means advocate extensive or expensive buildings for 
wayside stations, but, on the contraiy, merely convenient and eco- 
nomical arrangements, with a large amount of that inexpensive 
commodity — taste. Considerations of safety, we think, should exer- 
cise more influence over the designing and placing of these struc- 
tures, and the management of their suiToundiugs. In no other 
country do we find the rails so exposed, so subject to the intrusion 
of cattle and other obstructions, with carriage roads crossing the 
track, unguarded by gates or bridges. Many valuable lives have 
been lost from the necessity of crossing the track to enter the sta- 
tion. Travellers from abroad look aghast at such wanton care- 
lessness, while we, with our go-ahead propensities, think nothing 
of it, and take no measures to prevent such accidents. 

In the present design we have endeavored to obviate some of 
the faults alluded to. Here, it wiU be observed, it is unnecessary 
for persons to cross the ti-acks, a bridge being provided, to enable 
travellers to cross from one side to the other of the rails without 
danger. Thus direct entrances are obtained into the station from 
both sides of the tracks. The rails are protected by an outside 
fence. The cross roads should either be bridged or protected by 
gates, which should be closed across the road when a train is ex- 
pected, and at other times across the rails, to prevent the entrance 
of cattle. 



THE END. 



HENRY HUDSON HOLLY, 

AUCIUTEOT, 

111 Broad-wrajr, Ne-w York. 



CHARGES 

On, Contracts exceeding $8,000. 

For Plans and Specifications, 2i per cent. 
For Detail Drawings, . . 1 « 
For Superintendence, . . ]j " 
Surreys of Old Buildings, . 25 dollars. 
Expenses added. 



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